THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

IN  MEMORY  OF 
EDWIN  CORLE 

PRESENTED  BY 
JEAN  CORLE 


Copyright  1908  By  Bigelow,  Smith  &  Co.,  N.  Y. 


"The  Sahib  understands  no  English  language" 


Vol.  IV,  Pane  132. 


ROBERT    LOUIS 
STEVENSON 


The  Master  of 
Ballantrae 


THE  REGENT  PRESS 
NEW  YORK 


Printed  and  Bound  by 

J.  J.  Little  &  Ivea  Co. 

New  York 


College 
Library 


EDITORIAL   NOTE 

THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE  was  first  published  serially  in 
Scribner's  Magazine  in  1888-89,  and  first  appeared  in  book 
form  in  August,  1889,  issued  by  Cassell  &  Co.  The  preface 
here  included  was  written  in  1889,  but  was  never  used  until 
attention  was  called  to  it  in  1898.  It  now  forms  a  part  of 
the  English  edition,  but  it  has  never  before  been  prefixed  to 
any  American  edition  of  the  book. 


Here  is  a  tale  which  extends  over  many  yean  and  travels 
into  many  countries.  By  a  peculiar  fitness  of  circumstances 
the  writer  began,  continued  it,  and  concluded  it  among  dis- 
tant and  diverse  scenes.  Above  all,  he  rvas  muck  upon  the 
sea.  The  character  and  fortune  of  the  fraternal  enemies,  the 
hall  and  shrubbery  of  Durrisdeer,  the  problem  of  Mackellar's 
homespun  and  how  to  shape  it  for  superior  flights;  these  were 
his  company  on  deck  in  many  star-reflecting  harbours,  ran 
often  in  his  mind  at  sea  to  the  tune  of  slatting  canvas,  and 
were  dismissed  (something  of  the  suddenest)  on  the  approach 
of  squalls.  It  is  my  hope  that  these  surroundings  of  its  man- 
ufacture may  to  some  degree  find  favour  for  my  story  with 
seafarers  and  sealovers  like  yourselves. 

And  at  least  here  is  a  dedication  from  a  great  way  off; 
written  by  the  loud  shores  of  a  subtropical  island  near  upon 
ten  thousand  miles  from  Boscombe  Cline  and  Manor:  scenes 
which  rise  before  me  as  I  write,  along  with  the  faces  and  voices 
of  my  friends. 

Well,  I  am  for  the  sea  once  more;  no  doubt  Sir  Percy  also. 
Let  us  make  the  signal  13.  R.  D.I 

R.L.S. 

Waikiki,  May  17, 1889. 


PREFACE 

ALTHOUGH  an  old,  consistent  exile,  the  editor  of  the  follow- 
ing pages  revisits  now  and  again  the  city  of  which  he  exults 
to  be  a  native ;  and  there  are  few  things  more  strange,  more 
painful,  or  more  salutary,  than  such  revisitations.  Outside, 
in  foreign  spots,  he  comes  by  surprise  and  awakens  more 
attention  than  he  had  expected;  in  his  own  city,  the  relation 
is  reversed,  and  he  stands  amazed  to  be  so  little  recollected. 
Elsewhere  he  is  refreshed  to  see  attractive  faces,  to  remark 
possible  friends ;  there  he  scouts  the  long  streets,  with  a  pang 
at  heart,  for  the  faces  and  friends  that  are  no  more.  Else- 
where he  is  delighted  with  the  presence  of  what  is  new,  there 
tormented  by  the  absence  of  what  is  old.  Elsewhere  he  is 
content  to  be  his  present  self ;  there  he  is  smitten  with  an  equal 
regret  for  what  he  once  was  and  for  what  he  once  hoped  to  be. 

He  was  feeling  all  this  dimly,  as  he  drove  from  the  station, 
on  his  last  visit ;  he  was  feeling  it  still  as  he  alighted  at  the 
door  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Johnstone  Thomson,  W.  S.,  with 
whom  he  was  to  stay.  A  hearty  welcome,  a  face  not  alto- 
gether changed,  a  few  words  that  sounded  of  old  days,  a 
laugh  provoked  and  shared,  a  glimpse  in  passing  of  the  snowy 
cloth  and  bright  decanters  and  the  Piranesis  on  the  dining- 
room  wall,  brought  him  to  his  bedroom  with  a  somewhat 
lightened  cheer,  and  when  he  and  Mr.  Thomson  sat  down  a 
few  minutes  later,  cheek  by  jowl,  and  pledged  the  past  in  a 
preliminary  bumper,  he  was  already  almost  consoled,  he  had 
already  almost  forgiven  himself  his  two  unpardonable  errors, 
that  he  should  ever  have  left  his  native  city,  or  ever  returned 
to  it. 

"  I  have  something  quite  in  your  way,"  said  Mr.  Thomson. 
**  I  wished  to  do  honour  to  your  arrival :  because,  my  dear 
fellow,  it  is  my  own  youth  that  comes  back  along  with  you } 


PREFACE 

in  a  very  tattered  and  withered  state,  to  be  sure,  but — wellS 
— all  that's  left  of  it." 

'*  A  great  deal  better  than  nothing,"  said  the  editor.  "  But 
what  is  this  which  is  quite  in  my  way?  " 

"  I  was  coming  to  that,"  said  Mr.  Thomson :  "  Fate  has 
put  it  in  my  power  to  honour  your  arrival  with  something 
really  original  by  way  of  dessert.  A  mystery." 

"  A  mystery?  "  I  repeated. 

"  Yes,"  said  his  friend,  "  a  mystery.  It  may  prove  to  be 
nothing,  and  it  may  prove  to  be  a  great  deal.  But  in  the 
meanwhile  it  is  truly  mysterious,  no  eye  having  looked  on  it 
for  near  a  hundred  years ;  it  is  highly  genteel,  for  it  treats 
of  a  titled  family ;  it  ought  to  be  melodramatic,  for  (accord- 
ing to  the  superscription)  it  is  concerned  with  death." 

"  I  think  I  rarely  heard  a  more  obscure  or  a  more  promis- 
ing annunciation,"  the  other  remarked.  "  But  what  is  It?  " 

"  You  remember  my  predecessor's,  old  Peter  M'Brair's, 
business  ?  " 

"  I  remember  him  acutely ;  he  could  not  look  at  me  without 
a  pang  of  reprobation,  and  he  could  not  feel  the  pang  with- 
out betraying  it.  He  was  to  me  a  man  of  a  great  historical 
interest,  but  the  interest  was  not  returned." 

"  Ah,  well,  we  go  beyond  him,"  said  Mr.  Thomson.  "  I 
dare  say  old  Peter  knew  as  little  about  this  as  I  do.  You  see, 
I  succeeded  to  a  prodigious  accumulation  of  old  lawpapers 
and  old  tin  boxes,  some  of  them  of  Peter's  hoarding,  some  of 
his  father's,  John,  first  of  the  dynasty,  a  great  man  in  his 
day.  Among  other  collections,  were  all  the  papers  of  the 
Durrisdeers." 

"  The  Durrisdeers ! "  cried  I.  **  My  dear  fellow,  these  may 
be  of  the  greatest  interest.  One  of  them  was  out  in  the  '45 ; 
one  had  some  strange  passages  with  the  devil — you  will  find 
a  note  of  it  in  Law's  Memorials,  I  think ;  and  there  was  an 
unexplained  tragedy,  I  know  not  what,  much  later,  about  a 
hundred  years  ago " 

"  More  than  a  hundred  years  ago,"  said  Mr.  Thomson. 
"  In  1783." 

"  How  do  you  know  that?    I  mean  some  death." 


PREFACE 

"Yes,  the  lamentable  deaths  of  my  lord  Durrisdeer  and 
his  brother,  the  Master  of  Ballantrae  (attainted  in  the 
troubles),"  said  Mr.  Thomson,  with  something  the  tone  of  a 
man  quoting.  "  Is  that  it  ?  " 

"  To  say  truth,"  said  I,  "  I  have  only  seen  some  dim  refer- 
ence to  the  things  in  memoirs ;  and  heard  some  traditions 
dimmer  still,  through  my  uncle  (whom  I  think  you  knew). 
My  uncle  lived  when  he  was  a  boy  in  the  neighbourhood  of  St. 
Bride's;  he  has  often  told  me  of  the  avenue  closed  up  and 
grown  over  with  grass,  the  great  gates  never  opened,  the  last 
lord  and  his  old-maid  sister  who  lived  in  the  back  parts  of 
the  house,  a  quiet,  plain,  poor,  humdrum  couple  it  would 
seem — but  pathetic  too,  as  the  last  of  that  stirring  and  brave 
house — and,  to  the  country  folk,  faintly  terrible  from  some 
deformed  traditions." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Thomson.  "  Henry  Graeme  Durie,  the 
last  lord,  died  in  1820;  his  sister,  the  Honourable  Miss 
Katherine  Durie,  in  '27;  so  much  I  know;  and  by  what  I 
have  been  going  over  the  last  few  days,  they  were  what  you 
say,  decent,  quiet  people  and  not  rich.  To  say  truth,  it  was 
a  letter  of  my  lord's  that  put  me  on  the  search  for  the  packet 
we  are  going  to  open  this  evening.  Some  papers  could  not 
be  found;  and  he  wrote  to  Jack  M'Brair  suggesting  they 
might  be  among  those  sealed  up  by  a  Mr.  Mackellar. 
M'Brair  answered,  that  the  papers  in  question  were  all  in 
Mackellar's  own  hand,  all  (as  the  writer  understood)  of  a 
purely  narrative  character ;  and  besides,  said  he, '  I  am  bound 
not  to  open  them  before  the  year  1889.'  You  may  fancy  if 
these  words  struck  me:  I  instituted  a  hunt  through  all  the 
M'Brair  repositories ;  and  at  last  hit  upon  that  packet  which 
(if  you  have  had  enough  wine)  I  propose  to  show  you  at 
once." 

In  the  smoking-room,  to  which  my  host  now  led  me,  was 
a  packet,  fastened  with  many  seals  and  enclosed  in  a  single 
sheet  of  strong  paper  thus  endorsed: 

**  Papers  relating  to  the  lives  and  lameivtable  deaths  of  the 
late  Lord  Durrisdeer,  and  his  elder  brother  James,  commonly 


PREFACE 

called  Master  of  Ballantrae,  attainted  in  the  troubles:  en- 
trusted into  the  hands  of  John  M'Brair  in  the  Lawnmarket  of 
Edinburgh,  W.  S. ;  this  20th  day  of  September,  Anno  Domini, 
1789;  by  him  to  be  kept  secret  until  the  revolution  of  one 
hundred  years  complete,  or  until  the  20th  day  of  September, 
1889 ;  the  same  compiled  and  written  by  me, 

"  EPHEAIM  MACKEI/LAR, 
44  For  near  forty  years  Land  Steward  on 
the  estates  of  His  Lordship." 

As  Mr.  Thomson  is  a  married  man,  I  will  not  say  what 
hour  had  struck  when  we  laid  down  the  last  of  the  following 
pages ;  but  I  will  give  a  few  words  of  what  ensued. 

"  Here,"  said  Mr.  Thomson,  "  is  a  novel  ready  to  your 
hand:  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  work  up  the  scenery,  develop 
the  characters,  and  improve  the  style." 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  said  I,  "  they  are  just  the  three  things 
that  I  would  rather  die  than  set  my  Land  to.  It  shall  be  pub- 
lished as  it  stands." 

"  But  it's  so  bald,"  objected  Mr.  Thomson. 

"  I  believe  there  is  nothing  so  noble  as  baldness,"  replied 
I,  "  and  I  am  sure  there  is  nothing  so  interesting.  I  would 
have  all  literature  bald,  and  all  authors  (if  you  like)  but 
one." 

**  Well,  well,"  said  Mr.  Thomson,  "  we  shall  s«e." 


CONTENTS 

SUMMARY   OF    EVENTS    DURING    THE    MASTER'S    WANDERINGS       ...  1 

THE    MASTER'S    WANDERINGS 27 

PERSECUTIONS  ENDURED  BY  Ma.  HEKEY 57 

ACCOUNT  OF  ALL  THAT  PASSED  ON   THE   NIGHT  or  FEBHUAHY  27, 

1757          90 

SUMMAHY  OF  EVENTS  DuBINO  THE  MASTER'S  SECOND  ABSENCE     .     .  Ill 

ADVENTUBE  OF  CHEVALIER  BURKE  IN  INDIA 130 

THE   ENEMY  IN  THE    HOUSE 134 

MR.  MACKELLAH'S  JOURNEY  WITH  THE  MASTER 155 

PASSAGES  AT  NEW  YORK 173 

TllK    JOUBNEY    IN    THE     \VlLDERNEB6        ..........  191 

TQX  JOURNEY  IN  THK  WILDERNESS  (continued)       ......  214 


THE  MASTER   OF  BALLANTRAE 

SUMMARY  OF  EVENTS  DURING  THE  MASTER'S  WANDERINGS 

HP*  HE  full  truth  of  this  odd  matter  is  what  the  world  has 
JL  long  been  looking  for  and  public  curiosity  is  sure  to 
welcome.  It  so  befell  that  I  was  intimately  mingled  with  the 
last  years  and  history  of  the  house,  and  there  does  not  live 
one  man  so  able  as  myself  to  make  these  matters  plain,  or  so 
desirous  to  narrate  them  faithfully.  I  knew  the  Master;  on 
many  secret  steps  of  his  career  I  have  an  authentic  memoir 
in  my  hand ;  I  sailed  with  him  on  his  last  voyage  almost  alone ; 
I  made  one  upon  that  winter's  journey  of  which  so  many  tales 
have  gone  abroad,  and  I  was  there  at  the  man's  death.  As 
for  my  late  Lord  Durrisdeer,  I  served  him  and  loved  him  near 
twenty  years,  and  thought  more  of  him  the  more  I  knew  of 
him.  Altogether,  I  think  it  not  fit  that  so  much  evidence 
should  perish;  the  truth  is  a  debt  I  owe  my  lord's  memory, 
and  I  think  my  old  years  will  flow  more  smoothly  and  my 
white  hair  lie  quieter  on  the  pillow  when  the  debt  is  paid. 

The  Duries  of  Durrisdeer  and  Ballantrae  were  a  strong 
family  in  the  southwest  from  the  days  of  David  First.  A 
rhyme  still  current  in  the  country-side — 

Kittle  folk  are  the  Durrisdeers, 
They  ride  wi'  ower  mony  spears— 

bears  the  mark  of  its  antiquity,  and  the  name  appears  in. 
another,  which  common  report  attributes  to  Thomas  of 
Ercildoune  himself — I  cannot  say  how  truly,  and  which  some 
have  applied — I  dare  not  say  with  how  much  justice — to  the 
events  of  this  narration: 

Twa  Duries  in  Durrisdeer, 

Ane  to  tie  and  ane  to  ride, 
,3*  ill  day  for  the  groom 

And  a  waur  day  for  the  bride. 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

Authentic  history  besides  is  filled  with  their  exploits,  which 
(to  our  modern  eyes)  seem  not  very  commendable,  and  the 
family  suffered  its  full  share  of  those  ups  and  downs  to  which 
the  great  houses  of  Scotland  have  been  ever  liable.  But  all 
these  I  pass  over  to  come  to  that  memorable  year  1745  when 
the  foundations  of  this  tragedy  were  laid. 

At  that  time  there  dwelt  a  family  of  four  persons  in  the 
house  of  Durrisdeer,  near  St.  Bride's,  on  the  Solway  shore,  a 
chief  hold  of  their  race  since  the  Reformation.  My  old  lord, 
eighth  of  the  name,  was  not  old  in  years,  but  he  suffered 
prematurely  from  the  disabilities  of  age ;  his  place  was  at  the 
chimney-side ;  there  he  sat  reading,  in  a  lined  gown,  with  f eir 
words  for  any  man  and  wry  words  for  none,  the  model  of 
an  old  retired  housekeeper,  and  yet  his  mind  very  well  nour- 
ished with  study,  and  reputed  in  the  country  to  be  more  cun- 
ning than  he  seemed.  The  Master  of  Ballantrae,  James  in 
baptism,  took  from  his  father  the  love  of  serious  reading; 
some  of  his  tact  perhaps  as  well,  but  that  which  was  only 
policy  in  the  father  became  black  dissimulation  in  the  son. 
The  face  of  his  behavior  was  merely  popular  and  wild:  he 
sat  late  at  wine,  later  at  the  cards;  had  the  name  in  the 
country  of  "  an  unco  man  for  the  lasses,"  and  was  ever  in  the 
front  of  broils.  But  for  all  he  was  the  first  to  go  in,  yet  it 
was  observed  he  was  invariably  the  best  to  come  off,  and  his 
partners  in  mischief  were  usually  alone  to  pay  the  piper. 
This  luck  or  dexterity  got  him  several  ill-wishers,  but  with 
the  rest  of  the  country  enhanced  his  reputation,  so  that  great 
things  were  looked  for  in  his  future  when  he  should  have 
gained  more  gravity.  One  very  black  mark  he  had  to  his 
name,  but  the  matter  was  hushed  up  at  the  time  and  so  de- 
faced by  legends  before  I  came  into  those  parts  that  I  scruple 
to  set  it  down.  If  it  was  true  it  was  a  horrid  fact  in  one  so 
young,  and  if  false  it  was  a  horrid  calumny.  I  think  it 
notable  that  he  had  always  vaunted  himself  quite  implacable 
and  was  taken  at  his  word,  so  that  he  had  the  addition  among 
his  neighbors  of  "  an  ill  man  to  cross."  Here  was  altogether 
a  young  nobleman  (not  yet  twenty-four  in  the  year  '45)  who 
had  made  a  figure  in  the  country  beyond  his  time  of  life. 

2 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

The  less  marvel  if  there  were  little  heard  of  the  second  son, 
Mr.  Henry  (my  late  Lord  Durrisdeer),  who  was  neither  very 
bad  nor  yet  very  able,  but  an  honest,  solid  sort  of  lad  like 
many  of  his  neighbors.  Little  heard,  I  say;  but  indeed  it 
was  a  case  of  little  spoken.  He  was  known  among  the  salmon- 
fishers  in  the  firth,  for  that  was  a  sport  that  he  assiduously 
followed ;  he  was  an  excellent  good  horse-doctor  besides,  and 
took  a  chief  hand  almost  from  a  boy  in  the  management  of 
the  estates.  How  hard  a  part  that  was  in  the  situation  of 
that  family  none  knows  better  than  myself,  nor  yet  with  how 
little  color  of  justice  a  man  may  there  acquire  the  reputation 
of  a  tyrant  and  a  miser.  The  fourth  person  in  the  house 
was  Miss  Alison  Graeme,  a  near  kinswoman,  an  orphan  and 
the  heir  to  a  considerable  fortune  which  her  father  had 
acquired  in  trade.  This  money  was  loudly  called  for  by  my 
lord's  necessities ;  indeed  the  land  was  deeply  mortgaged,  and 
Miss  Alison  was  designed  accordingly  to  be  the  Master's  wife, 
gladly  enough  on  her  side;  with  how  much  good  will  on  his 
is  another  matter.  She  was  a  comely  girl,  and  in  those  days 
very  spirited  and  self-willed,  for  the  old  lord  having  no 
daughter  of  his  own,  and  my  lady  being  long  dead,  she  had 
grown  up  as  best  she  might. 

To  these  four  came  the  news  of  Prince  Charlie's  landing, 
and  set  them  presently  by  the  ears.  My  lord,  like  the  chim- 
ney-keeper that  he  was,  was  all  for  temporizing.  Miss  Alison 
held  the  other  side,  because  it  appeared  romantical;  and  the 
Master  (though  I  have  heard  they  did  not  agree  often)  was 
for  this  once  of  her  opinion.  The  adventure  tempted  him, 
as  I  conceive;  he  was  tempted  by  the  opportunity  to  raise 
the  fortunes  of  the  house,  and  not  less  by  the  hope  of  paying 
off  his  private  liabilities,  which  were  heavy  beyond  all  opinion. 
As  for  Mr.  Henry,  it  appears  he  said  little  enough  at  first; 
his  part  came  later  on.  It  took  the  three  a  whole  day's  dis- 
putation, before  they  agreed  to  steer  a  middle  course,  one 
son  going  forth  to  strike  a  blow  for  King  James,  my  lord 
and  the  other  staying  at  home  to  keep  in  favor  with  King 
George.  Doubtless  this  was  my  lord's  decision ;  and  as  is  well 
known,  it  was  the  part  played  by  many  considerable  families. 


But  the  one  dispute  settled,  another  opened.  For  my  lord, 
Miss  Alison  and  Mr.  Henry  all  held  the  one  view :  that  it  was 
the  cadet's  part  to  go  out;  and  the  Master,  what  with  rest- 
lessness and  vanity,  would  at  no  rate  consent  to  stay  at  home. 
My  lord  pleaded,  Miss  Alison  wept,  Mr.  Henry  was  very  plain 
spoken ;  all  was  of  no  avail. 

"  It  is  the  direct  heir  of  Durrisdeer  that  should  ride  by  his 
king's  bridle,"  says  the  master. 

"  If  we  were  playing  a  manly  part,"  says  Mr.  Henry, 
"  there  might  be  sense  in  such  talk.  But  what  are  we  doing? 
Cheating  at  cards !  " 

"We  are  saving  the  house  of  Durrisdeer,  Henry,"  his 
father  said. 

'*  And  see,  James,"  said  Mr.  Henry,  "  if  I  go,  and  the 
prince  has  the  upper  hand,  it  will  be  easy  to  make  your  peace 
with  King  James.  But  if  you  go,  and  the  expedition  fails, 
we  divide  the  right  and  the  title.  And  what  shall  I  be 
then?" 

"  You  will  be  Lord  Durrisdeer,"  said  the  Master.  "  I  put 
all  I  have  upon  the  table." 

"  I  play  at  no  such  game,"  cries  Mr.  Henry.  "  I  shall  be 
left  in  such  a  situation  as  no  man  of  sense  and  honor  could 
endure.  I  shall  be  neither  fish  nor  flesh !  "  he  cried.  And  a 
little  after,  he  had  another  expression,  plainer  perhaps  than 
he  intended.  "  It  is  your  duty  to  be  here  with  my  father," 
said  he.  "  You  know  well  enough  you  are  the  favorite." 

"  Ay  ?  "  said  the  master.  "  And  there  spoke  Envy ! 
Would  you  trip  up  my  heels — Jacob?  "  said  he,  and  dwelled 
upon  the  name  maliciously. 

Mr.  Henry  went  and  walked  at  the  low  end  of  the  hall 
without  reply ;  for  he  had  an  excellent  gift  of  silence.  Pres- 
ently he  came  back. 

"  I  am  the  cadet  and  I  should  go,"  said  he.  "  And  my 
lord  here  is  the  master,  and  he  says  I  shall  go.  What  say  ye 
to  that,  my  brother?  " 

"  I  say  this,  Harry,"  returned  the  Master,  "  that  when 
very  obstinate  folk  are  met,  there  are  only  two  ways  out: 
Blows — and  I  think  none  of  us  could  care  to  go  so  far;  or 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

the  arbitrament  of  chance — and  here  is  a  guinea  piece.  Will 
you  stand  by  the  toss  of  the  coin?  " 

"  I  will  stand  and  fall  by  it,"  said  Mr.  Henry.  "  Heads, 
I  go ;  shield,  I  stay." 

The  coin  was  spun  and  it  fell  shield.  "  So  there  is  a  lesson 
for  Jacob,"  says  the  Master. 

"We  shall  live  to  repent  of  this,"  says  Mr,  Henry,  and 
flung  out  of  the  hall. 

As  for  Miss  Alison,  she  caught  up  that  piece  of  gold  which 
had  just  sent  her  lover  to  the  wars,  and  flung  it  clean  through 
the  family  shield  in  the  great  painted  window. 

"  If  you  loved  me  as  well  as  I  love  you,  you  would  have 
stayed,"  cried  she. 

" '  I  could  not  love  you,  dear,  so  well,  loved  I  not  honor 
more,5  "  sung  the  Master. 

"  Oh !  "  she  cried,  "  you  have  no  heart — I  hope  you  may  be 
killed ! "  and  she  ran  from  the  room,  and  in  tears  to  her  own 
chamber. 

It  seems  the  Master  turned  to  my  lord  with  his  most  com- 
ical manner,  and  says  he,  "  This  looks  like  a  devil  of  a  wife." 

"  I  think  you  are  a  devil  of  a  son  to  me,"  cried  his  father, 
"  you  that  has  always  been  the  favorite,  to  my  shame  be  it 
spoken.  Never  a  good  hour  have  I  gotten  of  you  since  you 
were  born ;  no,  never  one  good  hour,"  and  repeated  it  again 
the  third  time.  Whether  it  was  the  Master's  levity,  or  his 
insubordination,  or  Mr.  Henry's  word  about  the  favorite  son, 
that  had  so  much  disturbed  my  lord,  I  do  not  know ;  but  I  in- 
cline to  think  it  was  ti  e  last,  for  I  have  it  by  all  accounts 
that  Mr.  Henry  was  more  made  up  to  from  that  hour. 

Altogether  it  was  in  pretty  ill  blood  with  his  family  that 
the  Master  rode  to  the  north ;  which  was  the  more  sorrowful 
for  others  to  remember  when  it  seemed  too  late.  By  fear  and 
favor,  he  had  scraped  together  near  upon  a  dozen  men,  prin- 
cipally tenants'  sons ;  they  were  all  pretty  full  when  they  set 
forth,  and  rode  up  the  hill  by  the  old  abbey,  roaring  and  sing- 
ing, the  white  cockade  in  every  hat.  It  was  a  desperate 
venture  for  so  small  a  company  to  cross  the  most  of  Scotland 
unsupported ;  and  (what  made  folk  think  so  the  more)  even 

a 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

as  that  poor  dozen  was  clattering  up  the  hill,  a  great  ship 
of  the  king's  navy,  that  could  have  brought  them  under  with 
a  single  boat,  lay  with  her  broad  ensign  streaming  in  the  bay. 
The  next  afternoon,  having  given  the  Master  a  fair  start,  it 
was  Mr.  ^enry's  turn;  and  he  rode  off,  all  by  himself,  to 
offer  his  sword  and  carry  letters  from  his  father  to  King 
George's  government.  Miss  Alison  was  shut  in  her  room  and 
did  little  but  weep,  till  both  were  gone ;  only  she  stitched  the 
cockade  upon  the  Master's  hat  and  (as  John  Paul  told  me)  it 
was  wetted  with  tears  when  he  carried  it  down  to  him. 

In  all  that  followed,  Mr.  Henry  and  my  old  lord  were  true 
to  their  bargain.  That  ever  they  accomplished  anything  is 
more  than  I  could  learn ;  and  that  they  were  any  way  strong 
on  the  king's  side,  more  than  I  believe.  But  they  kept  the 
letter  of  loyalty,  corresponded  with  my  lord  president,  sat 
still  at  home,  and  had  little  or  no  commerce  with  the  Master 
while  that  business  lasted.  Nor  was  he,  on  his  side,  more  com- 
municative. Miss  Alison,  indeed,  was  always  sending  him 
expresses,  but  I  do  not  know  if  she  had  many  answers.  Mac- 
conochie  rode  for  her  once,  and  found  the  Highlanders  before 
Carlisle,  and  the  Master  riding  by  the  prince's  side  in  high 
favor;  he  took  the  letter  (so  Macconochie  tells),  opened  it, 
glanced  it  through  with  a  mouth  like  a  man  whistling,  and 
stuck  it  in  his  belt,  whence,  on  his  horse  passageing,  it  fell 
unregarded  to  the  ground.  It  was  Macconochie  who  picked 
it  up;  and  he  still  kept  it,  and  indeed  I  have  seen  it  in  his 
hands.  News  came  to  Durrisdeer  of  course,  by  the  common 
report,  as  it  goes  traveling  through  a  country,  a  thing  always 
wonderful  to  me.  By  that  means  the  f  .mily  learned  more  of 
the  Master's  favor  with  the  prince,  and  the  ground  it  was  said 
to  stand  on ;  for  by  a  strange  condescension  in  a  man  so  proud 
— only  that  he  was  a  man  still  more  ambitious — he  was  said 
to  have  crept  into  notability  by  truckling  to  the  Irish.  Sir 
Thomas  Sullivan,  Colonel  Burke,  and  the  rest  were  his  daily 
comrades,  by  which  course  he  withdrew  himself  from  his  own 
country  folk.  All  the  small  intrigues  he  had  a  hand  in 
fomenting;  thwarted  my  Lord  George  upon  a  thousand 
poin**;  was  always  for  the  advice  that  seemed  palatable  to 

6 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

the  prince,  no  matter  if  it  was  good  or  bad ;  and  seems  upon 
the  whole  (like  the  gambler  he  was  all  through  life)  to  have 
had  less  regard  to  the  chances  of  the  campaign  than  to  the 
greatness  of  favor  he  might  aspire  to,  if  (by  any  luck)  it 
should  succeed.  For  the  rest,  he  did  very  well  in  the  field; 
no  one  questioned  that ;  for  he  was  no  coward. 

The  next  was  the  news  of  Culloden,  which  was  brought 
to  Durrisdeer  by  one  of  the  tenants'  sons,  the  only  survivor, 
he  declared,  of  all  those  that  had  gone  singing  up  the  hill. 
By  an  unfortunate  chance,  John  Paul  and  Macconochie  had 
that  very  morning  found  the  guinea  piece  (which  was  the  root 
of  all  the  evil)  sticking  in  a  holly  bush;  they  had  been  "up 
the  gait,"  as  the  servants  say  at  Durrisdeer,  to  the  change- 
house  ;  and  if  they  had  little  left  of  the  guinea,  they  had  less 
of  their  wits.  What  must  John  Paul  do  but  burst  into  the 
hall  where  the  family  sat  at  dinner,  and  cry  the  news  to  them 
that  "  Tarn  Macmorland  was  but  new  lichtit  at  the  door,  and 
— wirra,  wirra — there  were  nane  to  come  behind  him?  " 

They  took  the  word  in  silence  like  folk  condemned;  only 
Mr.  Henry  carrying  his  palm  to  his  face,  and  Miss  Alison 
laying  her  head  outright  upon  her  hands.  As  for  my  lord, 
he  was  like  ashes. 

"  I  have  still  one  son,"  says  he.  *'  And,  Henry,  I  will  do 
you  this  justice,  it  is  the  kinder  that  is  left." 

It  was  a  strange  thing  to  say  in  such  a  moment ;  but  my 
lord  had  never  forgotten  Mr.  Henry's  speech,  and  he  had 
years  of  injustice  on  his  conscience.  Still  it  was  a  strange 
thing;  and  more  than  Miss  Alison  could  let  pass.  She  broke 
out  and  blamed  my  lord  for  his  unnatural  words,  and  Mr. 
Henry  because  he  was  sitting  there  in  safety  when  his  brother 
lay  dead,  and  herself  because  she  had  given  her  sweetheart 
ill  words  at  his  departure ;  calling  him  the  flower  of  the  flock, 
wringing  her  hands,  protesting  her  love,  and  crying  on  him 
by  his  name ;  so  that  the  servants  stood  astonished. 

Mr.  Henry  got  to  his  feet  and  stood  holding  his  chair ;  it 
was  he  that  was  like  ashes  now. 

"  Oh,"  he  burst  out  suddenly,  "  I  know  you  loved  him !  " 

"  The  world  knows  that,  glory  be  to  God !  "  cries  she ;  and 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

then  to  Mr.  Henry :  "  There  is  none  but  me  to  know  one 
thing — that  you  were  a  traitor  to  him  in  your  heart." 

"  God  knows."  groans  he,  "  it  was  lost  love  on  both 
sides." 

Time  went  by  in  the  house  after  that  without  much  change ; 
only  they  were  now  three  instead  of  four,  which  was  a  per- 
petual reminder  of  their  loss.  Miss  Alison's  money,  you  are 
to  bear  in  mind,  was  highly  needful  for  the  estates ;  and  the 
one  brother  being  dead,  my  old  lord  soon  set  his  heart  upon 
her  marrying  the  other.  Day  in,  day  out,  he  would  work 
upon  her,  sitting  by  the  chimney-side  with  his  finger  in  his 
Latin  book,  and  his  eyes  set  upon  her  face  with  a  kind  of 
pleasant  intentness  that  became  the  old  gentleman  very  well. 
If  she  wept,  he  would  condole  with  her,  like  an  ancient  man 
that  has  seen  worse  times  and  begins  to  think  lightly  even  of 
sorrow;  if  she  raged,  he  would  fall  to  reading  again  in  his 
Latin  book,  but  always  with  some  civil  excuse ;  if  she  offered 
(as  she  often  did)  to  let  them  have  her  money  in  a  gift,  he 
would  show  her  how  little  it  consisted  with  his  honor,  and 
remind  her,  even  if  he  should  consent,  that  Mr.  Henry  would 
certainly  refuse.  Non  vi  sed  soepe  cadendo  was  a  favorite 
word  of  his ;  and  no  doubt  this  quiet  persecution  wore  away 
much  of  her  resolve;  no  doubt,  besides,  he  had  a  great  in- 
fluence on  the  girl,  having  stood  in  the  place  of  both  her 
parents;  and  for  that  matter,  she  was  herself  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Duries,  and  would  have  gone  a  great  way  for 
the  glory  of  Durrisdeer ;  but  not  so  far,  I  think,  as  to  marry 
my  poor  patron,  had  it  not  been  (strangely  enough)  for  the 
circumstance  of  his  extreme  unpopularity. 

This  was  the  work  of  Tarn  Macmorland.  There  was  not 
much  harm  in  Tarn ;  but  he  had  that  grievous  weakness,  a  long 
tongue;  and  as  the  only  man  in  that  country  who  had  been 
out  (or  rather  who  had  come  in  again)  he  was  sure  of  list- 
eners. Those  that  have  the  underhand  in  any  fighting,  I  have 
observed,  are  ever  anxious  to  persuade  themselves  they  were 
betrayed.  By  Tarn's  account  of  it,  the  rebels  had  been  be- 
trayed at  every  turn  and  by  every  officer  they  had ;  they  had 
been  betrayed  at  Derby,  and  betrayed  at  Falkirk ;  the  night 

8 


march  was  a  step  of  treachery  of  my  Lord  George's ;  and 
Culloden  was  lost  by  the  treachery  of  the  Macdonalds.  This 
habit  of  imputing  treason  grew  upon  the  fool,  till  at  last  he 
must  have  in  Mr.  Henry  also.  Mr.  Henry  (by  his  account) 
had  betrayed  the  lads  of  Durrisdeer ;  he  had  promised  to  fol- 
low with  more  men,  and  instead  of  that  he  had  ridden  to  King 
George.  "  Ay,  and  the  next  day !  "  Tarn  would  cry.  "  The 
puir,  bonnie  master  and  the  puir,  kind  lads  that  rade  wi*  him, 
Were  hardly  ower  the  scaur,  or  he  was  aff — the  Judis !  Ay, 
weel — he  has  his  way  o't:  he's  to  be  my  lord,  nae  less,  and 
there's  mony  a  cauld  corp  amang  the  Hieland  heather ! " 
And  at  this,  if  Tarn  had  been  drinking,  he  would  begin  to 
weep. 

Let  any  one  speak  long  enough  he  will  get  believers.  This 
view  of  Mr.  Henry's  behavior  crept  about  the  country  by 
little  and  little ;  it  was  talked  upon  by  folk  that  knew  the  con- 
trary but  were  short  of  topics ;  and  it  was  heard  and  believed 
and  given  out  for  gospel  by  the  ignorant  and  the  ill-willing. 
Mr.  Henry  began  to  be  shunned ;  yet  awhile,  and  the  commons 
began  to  murmur  as  he  went  by,  and  the  women  (who  are  al- 
ways the  most  bold  because  they  are  the  most  safe)  to  cry 
out  their  reproaches  to  his  face.  The  Master  was  cried  up 
for  a  saint.  It  was  remembered  how  he  had  never  had  any 
hand  in  pressing  the  tenants ;  as,  indeed,  no  more  he  had,  ex- 
cept to  spend  the  money.  He  was  a  little  wild  perhaps,  the 
folk  said ;  but  how  much  better  was  a  natural,  wild  lad  that 
would  soon  have  settled  down,  than  a  skinflint  and  a  sneck- 
draw,  sitting,  with  his  nose  in  an  account  book,  to  persecute 
poor  tenants.  One  trollop,  who  had  had  a  child  to  the  Master 
and  by  all  accounts  been  very  badly  used,  yet  made  herself 
a  kind  of  champion  of  his  memory.  She  flung  a  stone  one 
day  at  Mr.  Henry. 

"  Whaur's  the  bonnie  lad  that  trustit  ye?  "  she  cried. 

Mr.  Henry  reined  in  his  horse  and  looked  upon  her,  the 
blood  flowing  from  his  lip.  "  Ay,  Jess  ?  "  says  he.  "  You 
too  ?  And  yet  ye  should  ken  me  better."  For  it  was  he  who 
had  helped  her  with  money. 

The  woman  had  another  stone  ready,  which  she  made  as 

9 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

if  she  would  cast ;  and  he,  to  ward  himself,  threw  up  the  hand 
that  held  his  riding  rod. 

"  What,  would  you  beat  a  lassie,  ye  ugly — ?  "  cries  she, 
and  ran  away  screaming  as  though  he  had  struck  her. 

Next  day,  word  went  about  the  country  like  wildfire  that 
Mr.  Henry  had  beaten  Jessie  Broun  within  an  inch  of  her  life. 
I  give  it  as  one  instance  of  how  this  snowball  grew  and  one 
calumny  brought  another ;  until  my  poor  patron  was  so  per- 
ished in  reputation  that  he  began  to  keep  the  house  like  my 
lord.  All  this  while,  you  may  be  sure  he  uttered  no  com- 
plaints at  home ;  the  very  ground  of  the  scandal  was  too  sore 
a  matter  to  be  handled ;  and  Mr.  Henry  was  very  proud  and 
strangely  obstinate  in  silence.  My  old  lord  must  have  heard 
of  it,  by  John  Paul,  if  by  no  one  else;  and  he  must  at  least 
have  remarked  the  altered  habits  of  his  son.  Yet  even  he,  it 
is  probable,  knew  not  how  high  the  feeling  ran;  and  as  for 
Miss  Alison,  she  was  ever  the  last  person  to  hear  news,  and  the 
least  interested  when  she  heard  them. 

In  the  height  of  the  ill-feeling  (for  it  died  away  as  it  came, 
no  man  could  say  why)  there  was  an  election  forward  in  the 
town  of  St.  Bride's,  which  is  the  next  to  Durrisdeer,  standing 
on  the  Water  of  Swift;  some  grievance  was  fermenting,  I 
forget  what,  if  ever  I  heard ;  and  it  was  currently  said  there 
would  be  broken  heads  ere  night,  and  that  the  sheriff  had 
sent  as  far  as  Dumfries  for  soldiers.  My  lord  moved  that 
Mr.  Henry  should  be  present;  assuring  him  it  was  necessary 
to  appear,  for  the  credit  of  the  house.  "  It  will  soon  be  re- 
ported," said  he,  "  that  we  do  not  take  the  lead  in  our  own 
country." 

"  It  is  a  strange  lead  that  I  can  take,"  said  Mr.  Henry ; 
and  when  they  had  pushed  him  further,  "  I  tell  you  the  plain 
truth,"  he  said,  "  I  dare  not  show  my  face." 

"  You  are  the  first  of  the  house  that  ever  said  so,"  cries 
Miss  Alison. 

"  We  will  go  all  three,"  said  my  lord :  and  sure  enough  he 
got  into  his  boots  (the  first  time  in  four  years — a  sore  busi- 
ness John  Paul  had  to  get  them  on)  and  Miss  Alison  into 
her  riding-coat,  and  all  three  rode  together  to  St.  Bride's. 

10 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

The  streets  were  full  of  the  riff-raff  of  all  the  country- 
wide, who  had  no  sooner  clapped  eyes  on  Mr.  Henry  than  the 
hissing  began,  and  the  hooting,  and  the  cries  of  "  Judas ! " 
and  "  Where  was  the  Master  ?  "  and  "  Where  were  the  poor 
lads  that  rode  with  him?"  Even  a  stone  was  cast;  but  the 
more  part  cried  shame  at  that,  for  my  old  lord's  sake  and 
Miss  Alison's.  It  took  not  ten  minutes  to  persuade  my  lord 
that  Mr.  Henry  had  been  right.  He  said  never  a  word,  but 
turned  his  horse  about,  and  home  again,  with  his  chin  upon 
his  bosom.  Never  a  word  said  Miss  Alison;  no  doubt  she 
thought  the  more ;  no  doubt  her  pride  was  stung,  for  she  was 
a  bonebred  Durie ;  and  no  doubt  her  heart  was  touched  to  see 
her  cousin  so  unjustly  used.  That  night  she  was  never  in  bed ; 
I  have  often  blamed  my  lady — when  I  call  to  mind  that  night, 
I  readily  forgive  her  all ;  and  the  first  thing  in  the  morning, 
she  came  to  the  old  lord  in  his  usual  seat. 

"  If  Henry  still  wants  me,"  said  she,  "  he  can  have  me 
now."  To  himself  she  had  a  different  speech :  "  I  bring  you 
no  love,  Henry ;  but  God  knows,  all  the  pity  in  the  world." 

June  the  first,  1748,  was  the  day  of  their  marriage.  It 
was  December  of  the  same  year  that  first  saw  me  alighting  at 
the  doors  of  the  great  house;  and  from  there  I  take  up  the 
history  of  events  as  they  befell  under  my  own  observation, 
like  a  witness  in  a  court. 

I  made  the  last  of  my  journey  in  the  cold  end  of  Decem- 
ber, in  a  mighty  dry  day  of  frost;  and  who  should  be  my 
guide  but  Patey  Macmorland,  brother  of  Tarn !  For  a  tow- 
headed,  bare-legged  brat  of  ten,  he  had  more  ill  tales  upon 
his  tongue  than  ever  I  heard  the  match  of;  having  drunken 
betimes  in  his  brother's  cup.  I  was  still  not  so  old  myself; 
pride  had  not  yet  the  upper  hand  of  curiosity ;  and  indeed  it 
would  have  taken  any  man,  that  cold  morning,  to  hear  all  the 
old  clashes  of  the  country  and  be  shown  all  the  places  by  the 
way  where  strange  things  had  fallen  out.  I  had  tales  of 
Claverhouse  as  we  came  through  the  bogs,  and  tales  of  the 
devil  as  we  came  over  the  top  of  the  scaur.  As  we  came  in 
by  the  abbey  I  heard  somewhat  of  the  old  monks,  and  more 
of  the  free-traders,  who  use  its  ruins  for  a  magazine,  landing 

11 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

for  that  cause  within  a  cannon-shot  of  Durrisdeer ;  and  along 
all  the  road,  the  Duries  and  poor  Mr.  Henry  were  in  the  first 
rank  of  slander.  My  mind  was  thus  highly  prejudiced 
against  the  fanr'l/  I  was  about  to  serve:  so  that  I  was  half 
surprised  when  I  beheld  Durrisdeer  itself,  lying  in  a  pretty, 
sheltered  bay,  under  the  Abbey  Hill;  the  house  most  com- 
modiously  built  in  the  French  fashion  or  perhaps  Italianate, 
for  I  have  no  skill  in  these  arts ;  and  the  place  the  most  beau- 
tified with  gardens,  lawns,  shrubberies,  and  trees  I  had  ever 
seen.  The  money  sunk  here  unproductively  would  have  quite 
restored  the  family;  but  as  it  was,  it  cost  a  revenue  to  keep 
it  up. 

Mr.  Henry  came  himself  to  the  door  *  o  welcome  me :  a  tall, 
dark  young  gentleman  (the  Duries  are  all  black  men)  of  a 
plain  and  not  cheerful  face,  very  strong  in  body  but  not  so 
strong  in  health:  taking  me  by  the  hand  without  any  pride, 
and  putting  me  at  home  with  plain,  kind  speeches.  He  led 
me  into  the  hall,  booted  as  I  was,  to  present  me  to  my  lord. 
It  was  still  daylight;  and  the  first  thing  I  observed  was  a 
lozenge  of  clear  glass  in  the  midst  of  the  shield  in  the  painted 
window,  which  I  remember  thinking  a  blemish  on  a  room 
otherwise  so  handsome,  with  its  family  portraits,  and  the 
pargetted  ceiling  with  pendants,  and  the  carved  chimney,  in 
one  corner  of  which  my  old  lord  sat  reading  in  his  Livy.  He 
was  like  Mr.  Henry,  with  much  the  same  plain  countenance, 
only  more  subtle  and  pleasant,  and  his  talk  a  thousand  times 
more  entertaining.  He  had  many  questions  to  ask  me,  I  re- 
member, of  Edinburgh  College,  where  I  had  just  received 
my  mastership  of  arts,  and  of  the  various  professors,  with 
whom  and  their  proficiency  he  seemed  well  acquainted;  and 
thus,  talking  of  things  that  I  knew,  I  soon  got  liberty  of 
speech  in  my  new  home. 

In  the  midst  of  this  came  Mrs.  Henry  into  the  room ;  she 
was  very  far  gone,  Miss  Katharine  being  due  in  about  six 
weeks,  which  made  me  think  less  of  her  beauty  at  the  first 
sight,  and  she  used  me  with  more  condescension  than  the  rest, 
so  that  upon  all  accounts  I  kept  her  in  the  third  place  of  my 
esteem. 

12 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

It  did  not  take  long  before  all  Pate  Macmorland's  tales 
were  blotted  out  of  my  belief,  and  I  was  become,  what  I  have 
ever  since  remained,  a  loving  servant  of  the  house  of  Durris- 
deer.  Mr.  Henry  had  the  chief  part  of  my  affection.  It  was 
with  him  I  worked,  and  I  found  him  an  exacting  master,  keep- 
ing all  his  kindness  for  those  hours  in  which  we  were  unem- 
ployed, and  in  the  steward's  office  not  only  loading  me  with 
work  but  viewing  me  with  a  shrewd  superv'sion.  At  length 
one  day  he  looked  up  from  his  paper  with  a  kind  of  timid- 
ness,  and  says  he :  "  Mr.  Mackellar,  I  think  I  ought  to  tell 
you  that  you  do  very  well."  That  was  my  first  word  of  com- 
mendation, and  from  that  day  his  jealousy  of  my  perform- 
ance was  relaxed ;  soon  it  was  "  Mr.  Mackellar  "  here  and 
"  Mr.  Mackellar  "  there  with  the  whole  family,  and  for  much 
of  my  service  at  Durrisdeer  I  have  transacted  everything  at 
my  own  time  and  to  my  own  fancy,  and  never  a  farthing 
challenged.  Even  while  he  was  driving  me  I  had  begun  to  find 
my  heart  go  out  to  Mr.  Henry,  no  doubt  partly  in  pity — he 
was  a  man  so  palpably  unhappy.  He  would  fall  into  a  deep 
muse  over  our  accounts,  staring  at  the  page  or  out  of  the 
window,  and  at  those  times  the  look  of  his  face  and  the  sigh 
that  would  break  from  him  awoke  in  me  strong  feelings  of 
curiosity  and  commiseration.  One  day,  I  remember,  we  were 
late  upon  some  business  in  the  steward's  room.  This  room  is 
in  the  top  of  the  house,  and  has  a  view  upon  the  bay  and  over 
a  little  wooded  cape  on  the  long  sands ;  and  there,  right  over 
against  the  sun  which  was  then  dipping,  we  saw  the  free- 
traders with  a  great  force  of  men  and  horses  scouring  on  the 
beach.  Mr.  Henry  had  been  staring  straight  west,  so  that 
I  marveled  he  was  not  blinded  by  the  sun ;  suddenly  he  frowns, 
rubs  his  hand  upon  his  brow  and  turns  to  me  with  a  smile. 

''  You  would  not  guess  what  I  was  thinking,"  says  he.  "  I 
was  thinking  I  would  be  a  happier  man  if  I  could  ride  and 
run  the  danger  of  my  life  with  hese  lawless  companions." 

I  told  him  I  had  observed  he  did  not  enjoy  good  spirits, 
and  that  it  was  a  common  fancy  to  envy  others  and  think  we 
should  be  the  better  of  some  change,  quoting  Horace  to  the 
point  like  a  young  man  fresh  from  college. 

If 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  Why,  just  so,"  said  he.  "  And  with  that  we  may  get 
back  to  our  accounts." 

It  was  not  long  before  I  began  to  get  wind  of  the  causes 
that  so  much  depressed  him.  Indeed  a  blind  man  must  have 
soon  discovered  there  was  a  shadow  on  that  house,  the 
shadow  of  the  Master  of  Ballantrae.  Dead  or  alive  (and  he 
was  then  supposed  to  be  dead)  that  man  was  his  brother's 
rival — his  rival  abroad,  where  there  was  never  a  good  word 
for  Mr.  Henry  and  nothing  but  regret  and  praise  for  the 
Master,  and  his  rival  at  home,  not  only  with  his  father  and 
his  wife,  but  with  the  very  servants. 

They  were  two  old  serving-men  that  were  the  leaders.  John 
Paul,  a  little,  bald,  solemn,  stomachy  man,  a  great  professor 
of  piety  and  (take  him  for  all  in  all)  a  pretty  faithful 
servant,  was  the  chief  of  the  Master's  faction.  None  durst 
go  so  far  as  John.  He  took  a  pleasure  in  disregarding  Mr. 
Henry  publicly,  often  with  a  slighting  comparison.  My  lord 
and  Mrs.  Henry  took  him  up,  to  be  sure,  but  never  so  reso- 
lutely as  they  should,  and  he  had  only  to  pull  his  weeping 
face  and  begin  his  lamentations  for  the  Master — "  his  lad- 
die," as  he  called  him — to  have  the  whole  condoned.  As  for 
Henry,  he  let  these  things  pass  in  silence,  sometimes  with  a 
sad  and  sometimes  with  a  black  look.  There  was  no  rivaling 
the  dead,  he  knew  that,  and  how  to  censure  an  old  serving- 
man  for  a  fault  of  loyalty  was  more  than  he  could  see.  His 
was  not  the  tongue  to  do  it. 

Macconochie  was  chief  upon  the  other  side — an  old,  ill- 
spoken,  swearing,  ranting,  drunken  dog — and  I  have  often 
thought  it  an  odd  circumstance  in  human  nature  that  these 
two  serving-men  should  each  have  been  the  champion  of  his 
contrary,  and  blackened  their  own  faults  and  made  light  of 
their  own  virtues  when  they  beheld  them  in  a  master.  Mac- 
conochie had  soon  smelled  out  my  secret  inclination,  took  me 
much  into  his  confidence,  and  would  rant  against  the  Master 
by  the  hour,  so  that  even  my  work  suffered.  "  They're  a'  daft 
here,"  he  would  cry,  "  and  be  damned  to  them !  The  Master 
— the  deil's  in  their  thrapples  that  should  call  him  sae! — 
it's  Mr.  Henry  should  be  Master  now!  They  were  nane 

14 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

sea  fond  o'  the  Master  when  they  had  him,  I  can  tell  ye  that. 
Sorrow  on  his  name!  Never  a  guid  word  did  I  hear  on  his 
lips,  nor  naebody  else,  but  just  fleering  and  flyting  and  pro- 
fane cursing — deil  ha'e  him !  There's  nane  kent  his  wicked- 
ness :  him  a  gentleman !  Did  ever  ye  hear  tell,  Mr.  Mackellar, 
o'  Wully  White  the  wabster?  No?  Aweel,  Wully  was  an 
unco  praying  kind  o'  man — a  driegh  body,  nane  o'  my  kind ; 
I  never  could  abide  the  sight  o'  him ;  onyway  he  was  a  great 
hand  by  his  way  of  it,  and  he  up  and  rebukit  the  Master  for 
some  of  his  on-goings.  It  was  a  grand  thing  for  the  Master 
o'  Ball'ntrae  to  tak  up  a  feud  wi'  a*  wabster,  was-nae't?  " 
Macconochie  would  sneer ;  indeed  he  never  took  the  full  name 
upon  his  lips  but  with  a  sort  of  a  whine  of  hatred.  "  But  he 
did !  A  fine  employ  it  was — chapping  at  the  man's  door  and 
crying  *  boo '  in  his  lum,  and  puttin'  poother  in  his  fire  and 
pee-oys  *  in  his  window,  till  the  man  thocht  it  was  auld 
Hornie  was  come  seekin*  him.  Weel,  to  mak  a  lang  story 
short,  Wully  gaed  gyte.  At  the  hinder  end  they  couldnae 
get  him  frae  his  knees,  but  he  just  roared  and  prayed  and 
grat  straucht  on  till  he  got  his  release.  It  was  fair  murder, 
a'body  said  that.  Ask  John  Paul ;  he  was  brawly  ashamed  o' 
that  game — him  that's  sic  a  Christian  man!  Grand  doin's 
for  the  Master  o'  Ball'ntrae !  "  I  asked  him  what  the  Master 
had  thought  of  himself.  "  How  would  I  ken  ? "  says  he. 
"  He  never  said  naething."  And  on  again  in  his  usual  man- 
ner of  banning  and  swearing,  with  every  now  and  again  a 
"  Master  of  Ballantrae  "  sneered  through  his  nose.  It  was  in 
one  of  these  confidences  that  he  showed  me  the  Carlisle  letter, 
the  print  of  the  horseshoe  still  stamped  in  the  paper.  Indeed 
that  was  our  last  confidence,  for  he  then  expressed  himself 
so  ill-naturedly  of  Mrs.  Henry  that  I  had  to  reprimand  him 
sharply,  and  must  thenceforth  hold  him  at  a  distance. 

My  old  lord  was  uniformly  kind  to  Mr.  Henry ;  he  had  even 
pretty  ways  of  gratitude,  and  would  sometimes  clap  him  on 
the  shoulder  and  say,  as  if  to  the  world  at  large :  "  This  is  a 
very  good  son  to  me."  And  grateful  he  was  no  doubt,  being 
a  man  of  sense  and  justice.  But  I  think  that  was  all,  and  I 
*  A  kind  of  firework  made  with  damp  powder. 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

am  sure  Mr.  Henry  thought  so.  The  love  was  all  for  the 
dead  son.  Not  that  this  was  often  given  breath  to;  indeed 
with  me  but  once.  My  lord  had  asked  me  one  day  how  I  got 
on  with  Mr.  Henry,  and  I  had  told  him  the  truth. 

"  Ay,"  said  he,  looking  sideway  on  the  burning  fire, 
*'  Henry  is  a  good  lad,  a  very  good  lad,"  said  he.  "  You  have 
heard,  Mr.  Mackellar,  that  I  had  another  son?  I  am  afraid 
he  was  not  so  virtuous  a  lad  as  Mr.  Henry :  but  dear  me,  he's 
dead,  Mr.  Mackellar!  and  while  he  lived  we  were  all  very 
proud  of  him,  all  very  proud.  If  he  was  not  all  he  should 
have  been  in  some  ways,  well,  perhaps  we  loved  him  better ! " 
This  last  he  said  looking  musingly  in  the  fire ;  and  then  to  me, 
with  a  great  deal  of  briskness,  "  But  I  am  rejoiced  you  do  so 
well  with  Mr.  Henry.  You  will  find  him  a  good  master." 
And  with  that  he  opened  his  book,  which  was  the  customary 
signal  of  dismission.  But  it  would  be  little  that  he  read  and 
less  that  he  understood;  Cullotjen  field  and  the  Master,  these 
would  be  the  burden  of  his  thought ;  and  the  burden  of  mine 
was  an  unnatural  jealousy  of  the  dead  man  for  Mr.  Henry's 
sake,  that  had  even  then  begun  to  grow  on  me. 

I  am  keeping  Mrs.  Henry  for  the  last  so  that  this  expres- 
sion of  my  sentiment  may  seem  unwarrantably  strong:  the 
reader  shall  judge  for  himself  when  I  have  done.  But  I  must 
first  tell  of  another  matter,  which  was  the  means  of  bringing 
me  more  intimate.  I  had  not  yet  been  six  months  at  Durris- 
deer  when  it  chanced  that  John  Paul  fell  sick  and  must  keep 
his  bed;  drink  was  the  root  of  his  malady,  in  my  poor 
thought;  but  he  was  tended  and  indeed  carried  himself  like 
an  afflicted  saint ;  and  the  very  minister  who  came  to  visit  him 
professed  himself  edified  when  he  went  away.  The  third 
morning  of  his  sickness,  Mr.  Henry  comes  to  me  with  some- 
thing of  a  hangdog  look. 

"  Mackellar,"  says  he,  "  I  wish  I  could  trouble  you  upon  a 
little  service.  There  is  a  pension  we  pay ;  it  is  John's  part  to 
carry  it ;  and  now  that  he  is  sick,  I  know  not  to  whom  I  should 
look  unless  it  was  yourself.  The  matter  is  very  delicate;  I 
could  not  carry  it  with  my  own  hand  for  a  sufficient  reason ; 
I  dare  not  send  Macconochie,  who  is  a  talker,  and  I  am — I 

16 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

have — I  am  desirous  this  should  not  come  to  Mrs.  Henry's 
cars,"  says  he,  and  flushed  to  his  neck  as  he  said  it. 

To  say  truth,  when  I  found  I  was  to  carry  money  to  one 
Jessie  Broun,  who  was  no  better  than  she  should  be,  I  sup- 
posed it  was  some  trip  of  his  own  that  Mr.  Henry  was  dis- 
sembling. I  was  the  more  impressed  when  the  truth  came  out. 

It  was  up  a  wynd  off  a  side  street  in  St.  Bride's  that  Jessie 
had  her  lodging.  The  place  was  very  ill  inhabited,  mostly  by 
the  free-trading  sort ;  there  was  a  man  with  a  broken  head  at 
the  entry ;  halfway  up,  in  a  tavern,  fellows  were  roaring  and 
singing,  though  it  was  not  yet  nine  in  the  day.  Altogether, 
I  had  never  seen  a  worse  neighborhood  even  in  the  great  city 
of  Edinburgh,  and  I  was  in  two  minds  to  go  back.  Jessie's 
room  was  of  a  piece  with  her  surroundings  and  herself  no 
better.  She  would  not  give  me  the  receipt  (which  Mr.  Henry 
had  told  me  to  demand,  for  he  was  very  methodical)  until 
she  had  sent  out  for  spirits  and  I  had  pledged  her  in  a  glass ; 
and  all  the  time  she  carried  on  in  a  light-headed,  reckkss  way, 
now  aping  the  manners  of  a  lady,  now  breaking  into  unseemly 
mirth,  now  making  coquettish  advances  that  oppressed  me  to 
the  ground.  Of  the  money,  she  spoke  more  tragically. 

'*  It's  blood  money,"  said  she,  "  I  take  it  for  that :  blood 
money  for  the  betrayed.  See  what  I'm  brought  down  to! 
Ah,  if  the  bonnie  lad  were  back  again,  it  would  be  changed 
days.  But  he's  deid — he's  lyin*  deid  amang  the  Hieland  hills 
— the  bonnie  lad,  the  bonnie  lad !  " 

She  had  a  rapt  manner  of  crying  on  the  bonnie  lad,  clasp- 
ing her  hands  and  casting  up  her  eyes,  that  I  think  she  must 
have  learned  of  strolling  players ;  and  I  thought  her  sorrow 
very  much  of  an  affectation,  and  that  she  dwelled  upon  the 
business  because  her  shame  was  now  all  she  had  to  be  proud 
of.  I  will  not  say  I  did  not  pity  her,  but  it  was  a  loathing 
pity  at  the  best ;  and  her  last  change  of  manner  wiped  it  out. 
This  was  when  she  had  had  enough  of  me  for  an  audience  and 
had  set  her  name  at  last  to  the  receipt.  "  There !  "  says  she, 
and  taking  the  most  unwomanly  oaths  upon  her  tongue,  bade 
me  begone  and  carry  it  to  the  Judas  who  had  sent  me.  It  was 
the  first  time  I  had  heard  the  name  applied  to  Mr.  Henry ;  I 

17 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

was  staggered  besides  at  her  sudden  vehemence  of  word  and 
manner ;  and  got  forth  from  the  room,  under  this  shower  of 
curses,  like  a  beaten  dog.  But  even  then  I  was  not  quit ;  for 
the  vixen  threw  up  her  window  and,  leaning  forth,  continued 
to  revile  me  as  I  went  up  the  wynd ;  the  free-traders,  coming 
to  the  tavern  door,  joined  in  the  mockery;  and  one  had  even 
the  inhumanity  to  set  upon  me  a  very  savage,  small  dog, 
which  bit  me  in  the  ankle.  This  was  a  strong  lesson,  had  I 
required  one,  to  avoid  ill  company ;  and  I  rode  home  in  much 
pain  from  the  bite  and  considerable  indignation  of  mind. 

Mr.  Henry  was  in  the  steward's  room,  affecting  employ- 
ment, but  I  could  see  he  was  only  impatient  to  hear  of  my 
errand. 

"Well?  "  says  he,  as  soon  as  I  came  in;  and  when  I  had 
told  him  something  of  what  passed,  and  that  Jessie  seemed  an 
undeserving  woman  and  far  from  grateful :  "  She  is  no 
friend  to  me,"  said  he ;  "  but  indeed,  Mackellar,  I  have  few 
friends  to  boast  of;  and  Jessie  has  some  cause  to  be  unjust. 
I  need  not  dissemble  what  all  the  country  knows :  she  was  not 
very  well  used  by  one  of  our  family."  This  was  the  first  time 
I  had  heard  him  refer  to  the  Master  even  distantly;  and  I 
think  he  found  his  tongue  rebellious,  even  for  that  much ;  but 
presently  he  resumed.  "  This  is  why  I  would  have  noth- 
ing said.  It  would  give  pain  to  Mrs.  Henry — and  to  my 
father,"  he  added  with  another  flush. 

"  Mr.  Henry,"  said  I,  "  if  you  will  take  a  freedom  at  my 
hands,  I  would  tell  you  to  let  that  woman  be.  What  service 
is  your  money  to  the  like  of  her  ?  She  has  no  sobriety  and  no 
economy ;  as  for  gratitude,  you  will  as  soon  get  milk  from  a 
whinstone ;  and  if  you  will  pretermit  your  bounty,  it  will  make 
no  change  at  all  but  just  to  save  the  ankles  of  your  mes- 
sengers." 

Mr.  Henry  smiled.  "  But  I  am  grieved  about  your  ankle," 
said  he,  the  next  moment,  with  a  proper  gravity. 

"  And  observe,"  I  continued,  "  I  give  you  this  advice  upon 
consideration ;  and  yet  my  heart  was  touched  for  the  woman 
in  the  beginning." 

"  Why,  there  it  is,  you  see ! "  said  Mr.  Henry.    "  And  you 

18 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

are  to  remember  that  I  knew  her  once  a  very  decent  lass.  Be- 
sides which,  although  I  speak  little  of  my  family,  I  think 
much  of  its  repute." 

And  with  that  he  broke  up  the  talk,  which  was  the  first  we 
had  together  in  such  confidence.  But  the  same  afternoon  I 
had  the  proof  that  his  father  was  perfectly  acquainted  with 
the  business,  and  that  it  was  only  from  his  wife  that  Mr. 
Henry  kept  it  secret. 

"  I  fear  you  had  a  painful  errand  to-day,"  says  my  lord 
to  me :  "  for  which,  as  it  enters  in  no  way  among  your  duties, 
I  wish  to  thank  you,  and  to  remind  you  at  the  same  time  (in 
case  Mr.  Henry  should  have  neglected)  how  very  desirable  it 
is  that  no  word  of  it  should  reach  my  daughter.  Reflections 
on  the  dead,  Mr.  Mackellar,  are  doubly  painful." 

Anger  glowed  in  my  heart ;  and  I  could  have  told  )  y  lord 
to  his  face  how  little  he  had  to  do,  bolstering  up  tht  image 
of  the  dead  in  Mrs.  Henry's  heart,  and  how  much  better  he 
were  employed  to  shatter  that  false  idol.  For  by  this  time  I 
saw  very  well  how  the  land  lay  between  my  patron  and  his 
wife. 

My  pen  is  clear  enough  to  tell  a  plain  tale ;  but  to  render 
the  effect  of  an  infinity  of  stria11  things,  not  one  great  enough 
in  itself  to  be  narrated ;  and  to  translate  the  story  of  looks, 
and  the  message  of  voices  when  they  are  saying  no  great 
matter ;  and  to  put  in  half  a  page  the  essence  of  near  eighteen 
months:  this  is  what  I  despair  to  accomplish.  The  fault,  to 
be  very  blunt,  lay  all  in  Mrs.  Henry.  She  felt  it  a  merit  to 
have  consented  to  the  marriage,  and  she  took  it  like  a  martyr- 
dom; in  which  my  old  lord,  whether  he  knew  it  or  not, 
fomented  her.  She  made  a  merit,  besides,  of  her  constancy 
to  the  dead;  though  its  name,  to  a  nicer  conscience,  should 
have  seemed  rather  disloyalty  to  the  living ;  and  here  also  my 
lord  gave  her  his  countenance.  I  suppose  he  was  glad  to 
talk  of  his  loss,  and  ashamed  to  dwell  on  it  with  Mr.  Henry. 
Certainly,  at  least,  he  made  a  little  coterie  apart  in  that  fam- 
ily of  three,  and  it  was  the  husband  who  was  shut  out.  It 
seems  it  was  an  old  custom  when  the  family  were  alone  in 
Durrisdeer,  that  my  lord  should  take  his  wine  to  the  chim- 

19 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

ney-side,  and  Miss  Alison  (instead  of  withdrawing)  should 
bring  a  stool  to  his  knee  and  chatter  to  him  privately ;  and 
after  she  had  become  my  patron's  wife,  the  same  manner 
of  doing  was  continued.  It  should  have  been  pleasant  to 
behold  this  ancient  gentleman  so  loving  with  his  daughter; 
but  I  was  too  much  a  partisan  of  Mr.  Henry's  to  be  any- 
thing but  wroth  at  his  exclusion.  Many's  the  time  I  have 
seen  him  make  an  obvious  resolve,  quit  the  table,  and  go 
and  join  himself  to  his  wife  and  my  Lord  Durrisdeer;  and 
on  their  part,  they  were  never  backward  to  make  him  wel- 
come, turned  to  him  smilingly  as  to  an  intruding  child,  and 
took  him  into  their  talk  with  an  effort  so  ill-concealed  that 
he  was  soon  back  again  beside  me  at  the  table;  whence  (so 
great  is  the  hall  of  Durrisdeer)  we  could  but  hear  the  mur- 
mur of  voices  at  the  chimney.  There  he  would  sit  and  watch, 
and  I  along  with  him;  and  sometimes  by  my  lord's  head 
sorrowfully  shaken,  or  his  hand  laid  on  Mrs.  Henry's  head, 
or  hers  upon  his  knee  as  if  in  consolation,  or  sometimes  by 
an  exchange  of  tearful  looks,  we  would  draw  our  conclusion 
that  the  talk  had  gone  to  the  old  subject  and  the  shadow 
of  the  dead  was  in  the  hall. 

I  have  hours  when  I  blame  Mr.  Henry  for  taking  all  too 
patiently;  yet  we  are  to  remember  he  was  married  in  pity, 
and  accepted  his  wife  upon  that  term.  And  indeed  he  had 
small  encouragement  to  make  a  stand.  Once,  I  remember, 
he  announced  he  had  found  a  man  to  replace  the  pane  of  the 
stained  window;  which,  as  it  was  he  that  managed  all  the 
business,  was  a  thing  clearly  within  his  attributions.  But 
to  the  master's  fanciers,  that  pane  was  like  a  relic ;  and  on 
the  first  word  of  any  change,  the  blood  flew  to  Mrs.  Henry's 
face. 

"  I  wonder  at  you !  "  she  cried. 

"  I  wonder  at  myself,"  says  Mr.  Henry,  with  more  of  bit- 
terness than  I  had  ever  heard  him  to  express. 

Thereupon  my  old  lord  stepped  in  with  his  smooth  talk, 
so  that  before  the  meal  was  at  an  end  all  seemed  forgotten; 
only  that,  after  dinner,  when  the  pair  had  withdrawn  as 
usual  to  the  chimney-side,  we  could  see  her  weeping  with  her 

20 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

head  upon  his  knee.  Mr.  Henry  kept  up  the  talk  with  me 
upon  some  topic  of  the  estates — he  could  speak  of  little  else 
but  business,  and  was  never  the  best  of  company;  but  he 
kept  it  up  that  day  with  more  continuity,  his  eye  straying 
ever  and  again  to  the  chimney  and  his  voice  changing  to  an- 
other key,  but  without  check  of  delivery.  The  pane,  how- 
ever, was  not  replaced,  and  I  believe  he  counted  it  a  great 
defeat. 

Whether  he  was  stout  enough  or  no,  God  knows  he  was 
kind  enough.  Mrs.  Henry  had  a  manner  of  condescension 
with  him,  such  as  (in  a  wife)  would  have  pricked  my  vanity 
into  an  ulcer;  he  took  it  like  a  favor.  She  held  him  at 
the  staff's  end;  forgot  and  then  remembered  and  unbent 
to  him,  as  we  do  to  children ;  burdened  him  with  cold  kind- 
ness ;  reproved  him  with  a  change  of  color  and  a  bitten  lip, 
like  one  shamed  by  his  disgrace;  ordered  him  with  a  loolt 
of  the  eye,  when  she  was  off  her  guard;  when  she  was  on 
the  watch,  pleaded  with  him  for  the  most  natural  attentions 
as  though  they  were  unheard-of  favors.  And  to  all  thift, 
he  replied  with  the  most  unwearied  service;  loving,  as  folft 
say,  the  very  ground  she  trod  on,  and  carrying  that  love 
in  his  eyes  as  bright  as  a  lamp.  When  Miss  Katharine  was 
to  be  born,  nothing  would  serve  but  he  must  stay  in  the 
room  behind  the  head  of  the  bed.  There  he  sat,  as  white 
(they  tell  me)  as  a  sheet  and  the  sweat  dropping  from  his 
brow ;  and  the  handkerchief  he  had  in  his  hand  was  crushed 
into  a  little  ball  no  bigger  than  a  musket  bullet.  Nor  could 
he  bear  the  sight  of  Miss  Katharine  for  many  a  day;  in- 
deed I  doubt  if  he  was  ever  what  he  should  have  been  to 
my  young  lady ;  for  the  which  want  of  natural  feeling  he 
was  loudly  blamed. 

Such  was  the  state  of  this  family  down  to  the  7th  of  April, 
1749,  when  there  befell  the  first  of  that  series  of  events 
which  were  to  break  so  many  hearts  and  lose  so  many  lives. 

On  that  day  I  was  sitting  in  my  room  a  little  before 
supper,  when  John  Paul  burst  open  the  door  with  no  civility 
of  knocking,  and  told  me  there  was  one  below  that  wished 

21 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

to  speak  with  the  steward;  sneering  at  the  name  of  my 
office. 

I  asked  what  manner  of  man,  and  what  his  name  was; 
and  this  disclosed  the  cause  of  John's  ill  humor ;  for  it  ap- 
peared the  visitor  refused  to  name  himself  except  to  me, 
a  sore  affront  to  the  majordomo's  consequence. 

"  Well,"  said  I.  smiling  a  little,  **  I  will  see  what  he 
wants." 

I  found  in  the  entrance  hall  a  big  man  very  plainly  habited 
and  wrapped  in  a  sea-cloak,  like  one  new  landed,  as  indeed 
he  was.  Not  far  off  Macconochie  was  standing,  with  his 
tongue  out  of  his  mouth  and  his  hand  upon  his  chin,  like  a 
dull  fellow  thinking  hard ;  and  the  stranger,  who  had  brought 
his  cloak  about  his  face,  appeared  uneasy.  He  had  no 
sooner  seen  me  coming  than  he  went  to  meet  me  with  an 
effusive  manner. 

"  My  dear  man,"  said  he,  "  a  thousand  apologies  for  dis- 
turbing you,  but  I'm  in  the  most  awkward  position.  And 
there's  a  son  of  a  ramrod  there  that  I  should  know  the  looks 
of,  and  more  betoken  I  believe  that  he  knows  mine.  Being 
in  this  family,  sir,  and  in  a  place  of  some  responsibility 
(which  was  the  cause  I  took  the  liberty  to  send  for  you), 
you  are  doubtless  of  the  honest  party?  " 

"  You  may  be  sure  at  least,"  says  I,  "  that  all  of  that 
party  are  quite  safe  in  Durrisdeer." 

"  My  dear  man,  it  is  my  very  thought,"  says  he.  "  You 
see  I  have  just  been  set  on  shore  here  by  a  very  honest  man, 
whose  name  I  cannot  remember,  and  who  is  to  stand  off  and 
on  for  me  till  morning,  at  some  danger  to  himself;  and,  to 
be  clear  with  you,  I  am  a  little  concerned  lest  it  should  be 
at  some  to  me.  I  have  saved  my  life  so  often,  Mr. — I  for- 
get your  name,  which  is  a  very  good  one — that,  faith,  I 
would  be  very  loath  to  lose  it  after  all.  And  the  son  of  a 
ramrod,  whom  I  believe  I  saw  before  Carlisle 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  I,  "  you  can  trust  Macconochie  until 
to-morrow." 

"  Well,  and  it's  a  delight  to  hear  you  say  so,"  says  the 
stranger.  "  The  truth  is  that  my  name  is  not  a  very  iuit- 

22 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

able  one  in  this  country  of  Scotland.  With  a  gentleman 
like  you,  my  dear  man,  I  woula  nave  no  concealments  of 
course;  and  by  your  leave,  I'll  just  breathe  it  in  your  ear. 
They  call  me  Francis  Burke — Colonel  Francis  Burke;  and 
I  am  here,  at  a  most  damnable  risk  to  myself,  to  see  your 
masters — if  you'll  excuse  me,  my  good  man,  for  giving  them 
the  name,  for  I'm  sure  it's  a  circumstance  I  would  never  have 
guessed  from  your  appearance.  And  if  you  would  just  be 
so  very  obliging  as  to  take  my  name  to  them,  you  might  say 
that  I  come  bearing  letters  which  I  am  sure  they  will  be 
very  rejoiced  to  have  the  reading  of." 

Colonel  Francis  Burke  was  one  of  the  prince's  Irishmen, 
that  did  his  cause  such  an  infinity  of  hurt  and  were  so  much 
distasted  of  the  Scots  at  the  time  of  the  rebellion;  and  it 
came  at  once  into  my  mind  how  the  Master  of  Ballantrae 
had  astonished  all  men  by  going  with  that  party.  In  the 
same  moment  a  strong  foreboding  of  the  truth  possessed  my 
soul. 

"  If  you  will  step  in  here,"  said  I,  opening  a  chamber 
door,  "  I  will  let  my  lord  know." 

"  And  I  am  sure  it's  very  good  of  you,  Mr.  What-is-your- 
name,"  says  the  colonel. 

Up  to  the  hall  I  went,  slow  footed.  There  they  were 
all  three,  my  old  lord  in  his  place,  Mrs.  Henry  at  work  by 
the  window,  Mr.  Henry  (as  was  much  his  custom)  pacing 
the  low  end.  In  the  midst  was  the  table  laid  for  supper. 
I  told  them  briefly  what  I  had  to  say.  My  old  lord  lay  back 
in  his  seat.  Mrs.  Henry  sprung  up  standing  with  a  me- 
chanical motion,  and  she  and  her  husband  stared  at  each 
other's  eyes  across  the  room ;  it  was  the  strangest,  challeng- 
ing look  these  two  exchanged,  and  as  they  looked,  the  color 
faded  in  their  faces.  Then  Mr.  Henry  turned  to  me;  not 
to  speak,  only  to  sign  with  his  finger ;  but  that  was  enough, 
and  I  went  down  again  for  the  colonel. 

When  we  returned,  these  three  were  in  much  the  same 
position  I  had  left  them  in ;  I  believe  no  word  had 
passed. 

"  My  Lord  Durrisdeer,  no  doubt  ?  "  says  the  colonel,  bow- 

ZS 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALI.ANTRAE 

ing,  and  my  lord  bowed  in  answer.  "  And  this,"  continues 
the  colonel,  "  should  be  tne  Master  of  Ballantrae? 

"  I  have  never  taken  that  name,"  said  Mr.  Henry ;  "  but 
I  am  Henry  Durie  at  your  service." 

Then  the  colonel  turns  to  Mrs.  Henry,  bowing  with  his 
hat  upon  his  heart  and  the  most  killing  airs  of  gallantry. 
"  There  can  be  no  mistake  about  so  fine  a  figure  of  a  lady," 
says  he.  "  I  address  the  seductive  Miss  Alison,  of  whom  I 
have  so  often  heard?  " 

Once  more  husband  and  wife  exchanged  a  look. 

"  I  am  Mrs.  Henry  Durie,"  said  she ;  "  but  before  my 
marriage  my  name  was  Alison  Graeme." 

Then  my  lord  spoke  up.  "  I  am  an  old  man,  Colonel 
Burke,"  said  he,  "  and  a  frail  one.  It  will  be  mercy  on 
your  part  to  be  expeditious.  Do  you  bring  me  news  of — " 
he  hesitated,  and  then  the  words  broke  from  him  with  a  singu- 
lar change  of  voice — "  my  son  ?  " 

"  My  dear  lord,  I  will  be  round  with  you  like  a  soldier," 
said  the  colonel.  "  I  do." 

My  lord  held  out  a  wavering  hand;  he  seemed  to  wave  a 
signal,  but  whether  it  was  to  give  him  time  or  to  speak  on, 
was  more  than  we'  could  guess.  At  length,  he  got  out  the 
one  word — "  Good?  " 

"  Why,  the  very  best  in  the  creation ! "  cries  the  colonel. 
"  For  my  good  friend  and  admired  comrade  is  at  this  hour 
in  the  fine  city  of  Paris,  and  as  like  as  not,  if  I  know  any- 
thing of  his  habits,  he  will  be  drawing  in  his  chair  to  a 
piece  of  dinner.  Bedad,  I  believe  the  lady's  fainting." 

Mr?.  Henry  was  indeed  the  color  of  death,  and  drooped 
against  the  window  frame.  But  when  Mr.  Henry  made  a 
movement  as  if  to  run  to  her,  she  straightened  with  a  sort 
of  shiver.  "  I  am  well,"  she  said,  with  her  white  lips. 

Mr.  Henry  stopped,  and  his  face  had  a  strong  twitch  of 
anger.  The  next  moment  he  had  turned  to  the  colonel. 
"  You  must  not  blame  yourself,"  says  he,  "  for  this  effect 
on  Mrs.  Durie.  It  is  only  natural;  we  were  all  brought 
up  like  brother  and  sister." 

Mrs.  Henry  looked  at  her  husband  with  something  like 

24 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

relief  or  even  gratitude.  In  my  way  of  thinking,  that 
speech  was  the  first  step  he  made  in  her  good  graces. 

"  You  must  try  to  forgive  me,  Mrs.  Durie,  for  indeed  and 
I  am  just  an  Irish  savage,"  said  the  colonel,  "  and  I  deserve  to 
be  shot  for  not  breaking  the  matter  more  artistically  to  a 
lady.  But  here  are  the  Master's  own  letters,  one  for  each 
of  the  three  of  you,  and  to  be  sure  (if  I  know  anything  of 
my  friend's  genius)  he  will  tell  his  own  story  with  a  better 
grace." 

He  brought  the  three  letters  forth  as  he  spoke,  arranged 
them  by  their  superscriptions,  presented  the  first  to  my 
lord,  who  took  it  greedily,  and  advanced  toward  Mrs.  Henry 
holding  out  the  second. 

But  the  lady  waved  it  back.  "  To  my  husband,"  says  she, 
with  a  choked  voice. 

The  colonel  was  a  quick  man,  but  at  this  he  was  some- 
what nonplused.  "  To  be  sure,"  says  he ;  "  how  very  dull 
of  me!  To  be  sure."  But  he  still  held  the  letter. 

At  last  Mr.  Henry  reached  forth  his  hand,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  be  done  but  give  it  up.  Mr.  Henry  took  the 
letters  (both  hers  and  his  own)  and  looked  upon  their  out- 
side, with  his  brows  knit  hard,  as  if  he  were  thinking.  He 
had  surprised  me  all  through  by  his  excellent  behavior,  but 
he  was  to  excel  himself  now. 

"  Let  me  give  you  a  hand  to  your  room,"  said  he  to  his 
wife.  "  This  has  come  something  of  the  suddenest,  and  at 
any  rate  you  will  wish  to  read  your  letter  by  yourself." 

Again  she  looked  upon  him  with  the  same  thought  of 
wonder,  but  he  gave  her  no  time,  coming  straight  to  where 
she  stood.  "  It  will  be  better  so,  believe  me,"  said  he,  "  and 
Colonel  Burke  is  too  considerate  not  to  excuse  you."  And 
with  that  he  took  her  hand  by  the  fingers  and  led  her  from 
the  hall. 

Mrs.  Henry  returned  no  more  that  night,  and  when  Mr. 
Henry  went  to  visit  her  next  morning,  as  I  heard  long  after- 
ward, she  gave  him  the  letter  again,  still  unopened. 

"  Oh,  read  it  and  be  done ! "  he  had  cried. 

"  Spare  me  that,"  said  she. 

25 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

And  by  these  two  speeches,  to  my  way  of  thinking,  each 
undid  a  great  part  of  what  they  had  previously  done  well. 
But  the  letter,  sure  enough,  came  into  my  hands  and  by  me 
was  burned,  unopened. 

To  be  very  exact  as  to  the  adventures  of  the  master  after 
Culloden  I  wrote  not  long  ago  to  Colonel  Burke,  now  a 
Chevalier  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis,  begging  him  for  some 
notes  in  writing,  since  I  could  scarce  depend  upon  my  mem- 
ory at  so  great  an  interval.  To  confess  the  truth  I  have 
been  somewhat  embarrassed  by  his  response,  for  he  sent  me 
the  complete  memoirs  of  his  life,  touching  only  in  places 
on  the  Master,  running  to  a  much  greater  length  than  my 
whole  story,  and  not  everywhere  (as  it  seems  to  me)  designed 
for  edification.  He  begged  in  his  letter,  dated  from  Etten- 
heim,  that  I  would  find  a  publisher  for  the  whole  after  I  had 
made  what  use  of  it  I  required,  and  I  think  I  shall  best 
answer  my  own  purpose  and  fulfill  his  wishes  by  printing 
certain  parts  of  it  in  full.  In  this  way  my  readers  will  have 
a  detailed  and  I  believe  a  very  genuine  account  of  some 
essential  matters,  and  if  any  publisher  should  take  a  fancy 
to  the  chevalier's  manner  of  narration  he  knows  where  to 
apply  for  the  rest,  of  which  there  is  plenty  at  his  service. 
I  put  in  my  first  extract  here,  so  that  it  may  stand  in  the 
place  of  what  the  chevalier  told  us  over  our  wine  in  the  hall 
of  Durrisdeer ;  but  you  are  to  suppose  it  was  not  the  brutal 
fact,  but  a  very  varnished  version  that  he  offered  to  my  lord. 


•:> 


THE  MASTER'S   WANDERINGS 

From  the  Memoirs  of  the  Chevalier  de  Burke 

.  .  .  I  LEFT  Ruthven  (it's  hardly  necessary  to  re- 
mark) with  much  greater  satisfaction  than  I  had  come  to 
it,  but  whether  I  mi§sed  my  way  in  the  deserts  or  whether 
my  companions  failed  me  I  soon  found  myself  alone.  This 
was  a  predicament  very  disagreeable,  for  I  never  under- 
stood this  horrid  country  or  savage  people,  and  the  last 
stroke  of  the  prince's  withdrawal  had  made  us  of  the  Irish 
more  unpopular  than  ever.  I  was  reflecting  on  my  poor 
chances,  when  I  saw  another  horseman  on  the  hill,  whom  I 
supposed  at  first  to  have  been  a  phantom,  the  news  of  his 
death  in  the  very  front  at  Culloden  being  current  in  the 
army  generally.  This  was  the  Master  of  Ballantrae,  my 
Lord  Durrisdeer's  son,  a  young  nobleman  of  the  rarest  gal- 
lantry and  parts,  and  equally  designed  by  nature  to  adorn 
a  court  and  to  reap  laurels  in  the  field.  Our  meeting  was 
the  more  welcome  to  both,  as  he  was  one  of  the  few  Scots 
who  had  used  the  Irish  with  consideration  and  as  he  might 
now  be  of  very  high  utility  in  aiding  my  escape.  Yet  what 
founded  our  particular  friendship  was  a  circumstance  by 
itself  as  romantic  as  any  fable  of  King  Arthur. 

This  was  on  the  second  day  of  our  flight,  after  we  had 
slept  one  night  in  the  rain  upon  the  inclination  of  a  mountain. 
There  was  an  Appin  man,  Alan  Black  Stewart  (or  some  such 
name,*  but  I  have  seen  him  since  in  France)  who  chanced 
to  be  passing  the  same  way,  and  had  a  jealousy  of  my  com- 
panion. Very  uncivil  expressions  were  exchanged ;  and 
Stewart  calls  upon  the  master  to  alight  and  have  it  out. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Stewart,"  says  the  master,  "  I  think  at  the 

*  Note  by  Mr.  Mackellar. — Should  not  this  be  Alan  Breck  Stewart, 
afterward  notorious  as  the  Appin  murderer?  The  chevalier  is  sometimes 
very  weak  on  names. 

27 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

present  time  I  would  prefer  to  run  a  race  with  you."     And 
with  the  word  claps  spurs  to  his  horse. 

Stewart  ran  after  us,  a  childish  thing  to  do,  for  more 
than  a  mile;  and  I  could  not  help  laughing  as  I  looked 
back  at  last  and  saw  him  on  a  hill  holding  his  hand  to  his 
side  and  nearly  burst  with  running. 

"  But  all  the  same,"  I  could  not  help  saying  to  my  com- 
panion, "  I  would  let  no  man  run  after  me  for  any  such 
proper  purpose  and  not  give  him  his  desire.  It  was  a  good 
jest,  but  it  smells  a  trifle  cowardly." 

He  bent  his  brows  at  me.  "  I  do  pretty  well,"  says  he, 
"when  I  saddle  myself  with  the  most  unpopular  man  in 
Scotland,  and  let  that  suffice  for  courage." 

"  Oh,  bedad,"  says  I,  "  I  could  show  you  a  more  un- 
popular with  the  naked  eye.  And  if  you  like  not  my  com- 
pany, you  can  '  saddle '  yourself  on  some  one  else." 

"  Colonel  Burke,"  says  he,  "  do  not  let  us  quarrel ;  and 
to  that  effect,  let  me  assure  you  1  am  the  least  patient  man 
in  the  world." 

"  I  am  as  little  patient  as  yourself,"  said  I.  "  I  care  not 
who  knows  that." 

"  At  this  rate,"  said  he,  reining  in,  "  we  shall  not  go 
very  far.  And  I  propose  we  do  one  of  two  things  upon  the 
instant :  either  quarrel  and  be  done,  or  make  a  sure  bargain 
to  bear  everything  at  each  other's  hands." 

"Like  a  pair  of  brothers?"  said  I. 

"  I  said  no  such  foolishness,"  he  replied.  "  I  have  a 
brother  of  my  own,  and  I  think  no  more  of  him  than  of  a 
colewort.  But  if  we  are  to  have  our  noses  rubbed  together 
in  this  course  of  flight,  let  us  each  dare  to  be  ourselves 
like  savages,  and  each  swear  that  he  will  neither  resent  nor 
deprecate  the  other.  I  am  a  pretty  bad  fellow  at  bottom, 
and  I  find  the  pretense  of  virtues  very  irksome." 

"  Oh,  I  am  as  bad  as  yourself,"  said  I.  "  There  is  no 
skim  milk  in  Francis  Burke.  But  which  is  it  to  be?  Fight 
or  make  friends?  " 

"  Why,"  says  he,  "  I  think  it  will  be  the  best  manner  to 
spin  a  coin  for  it." 

28 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

This  proposition  was  too  highly  chivalrous  not  to  take 
my  fancy ;  and  strange  as  it  may  seem  of  two  well-born 
gentlemen  of  to-day,  we  spun  a  half  crown  (like  a  pair  of 
ancient  paladins)  whether  we  were  to  cut  each  other's  throats 
or  be  sworn  friends.  A  more  romantic  circumstance  can 
rarely  have  occurred;  and  it  is  one  of  those  points  in  my 
memoirs,  by  which  we  may  may  see  the  old  tales  of  Homer 
and  the  poets  are  equally  true  to-day,  at  least  of  the  noble 
and  genteel.  The  coin  fell  for  peace,  and  we  shook  hands 
upon  our  bargain.  And  then  it  was  that  my  companion 
explained  to  me  his  thought  in  running  away  from  Mr. 
Stewart,  which  was  certainly  worthy  of  his  political  intellect. 
The  report  of  his  death,  he  said,  was  a  great  guard  to  him ; 
Mr.  Stewart,  having  recognised  him,  had  become  a  danger; 
and  he  had  taken  the  briefest  road  to  that  gentleman's 
silence.  "  For,"  says  he,  "  Alan  Black  is  too  vain  a  man 
to  narrate  any  such  story  of  himself." 

Toward  afternoon  we  came  down  to  the  shores  of  that 
loch  for  which  we  were  heading;  and  there  was  the  ship 
but  newly  come  to  anchor.  She  was  the  Sainte-Marie-deg- 
Anges,  out  of  the  port  of  Havre-de-Grace.  The  Master, 
after  we  had  signaled  for  a  boat,  asked  me  if  I  knew  the 
captain.  I  told  him  he  was  a  countryman  of  mine,  of  the 
most  unblemished  integrity,  but,  I  was  afraid,  a  rather  timor- 
ous man. 

"  No  matter,"  says  he.  "  For  all  that,  he  should  certainly 
hear  the  truth." 

I  asked  him  if  he  meant  about  the  battle ;  for  if  the  cap- 
tain once  knew  the  standard  was  down,  he  would  certainly 
put  to  sea  again  at  once. 

"  And  even  then ! "  said  he ;  "  the  arms  are  now  of  no 
sort  of  utility." 

"My  dear  man,"  said  I,  "who  thinks  of  the  arms?  But 
to  be  sure  we  must  remember  our  friends.  They  will  be  close 
upon  our  heels,  perhaps  the  prince  himself,  and  if  the  ship 
be  gone,  a  great  number  of  valuable  lives  may  be  imperiled." 

"  The  captain  and  the  crew  have  lives  also,  if  you  come 
to  that,"  says  Ballantrae. 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

This  I  declared  was  but  a  quibble,  and  that  I  would  not 
hear  of  the  captain  being  told;  and  then  it  was  that  Bal- 
lantrae  made  me  a  witty  answer,  for  the  sake  of  which  (and 
also  because  I  have  been  blamed  myself  in  this  business  of 
the  Sainte-Marie-des-Anges)  I  have  related  the  whole  con- 
versation as  it  passed. 

"  Frank,"  says  he,  "  remember  our  bargain.  I  must  not 
object  to  your  holding  your  tongue,  which  I  hereby  even 
encourage  you  to  do;  but  by  the  same  terms,  you  are  not 
to  resent  my  telling." 

I  could  not  help  laughing  at  this ;  though  I  still  fore- 
warned him  what  would  come  of  it. 

"  The  devil  may  come  of  it  for  what  I  care,"  says  the 
reckless  fellow.  "  I  have  always  done  exactly  as  I  felt 
inclined." 

As  is  well  known,  my  prediction  came  true.  The  captain 
had  no  sooner  heard  the  news  than  he  cut  his  cable  and  to 
sea  again ;  and  before  morning  broke  we  were  in  the  Great 
Minch. 

The  ship  was  very  old,  and  the  skipper  although  the  most 
honest  of  men  (and  Irish  too)  was  one  of  the  least  capable. 
The  wind  blew  very  boisterous,  and  the  sea  raged  extremely. 
All  that  day  we  had  little  heart  whether  to  eat  or  drink; 
went  early  to  rest  in  some  concern  of  mind;  and  (as  if  to 
give  us  a  lesson)  in  the  night  the  wind  chopped  suddenly 
into  the  northeast,  and  blew  a  hurricane.  We  were  awaked 
by  the  dreadful  thunder  of  the  tempest  and  the  stamping  of 
the  mariners  on  deck ;  so  that  I  supposed  our  last  hour  was 
certainly  come ;  and  the  terror  of  my  mind  was  increased 
out  of  all  measure  by  Ballantrae,  who  mocked  at  my  devo- 
tions. It  is  in  hours  like  these  that  a  man  of  any  piety 
appears  in  his  true  light,  and  we  find  (what  we  are  taught 
as  babes)  the  small  trust  that  can  be  set  in  worldly  friends; 
I  would  be  unworthy  of  my  religion  if  I  let  this  pass  without 
particular  remark.  For  three  days  we  lay  in  the  dark  in 
the  cabin,  and  had  but  a  biscuit  to  nibble.  On  the  fourth 
the  wind  fell,  leaving  the  ship  dismasted  and  heaving  on 
vast  billows.  The  captain  had  not  a  guess  of  whither  we 

30 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

were  blown;  he  was  stark  ignorant  of  his  trade,  and  could 
do  naught  but  bless  the  Holy  Virgin;  a  very  good  thing 
too,  but  scarce  the  whole  of  seamanship.  It  seemed  our  one 
hope  was  to  be  picked  up  by  another  vessel;  and  if  that 
should  prove  to  be  an  English  ship,  it  might  be  no  great 
blessing  to  the  master  and  myself. 

The  fifth  and  sixth  days  we  tossed  there  helpless.  The 
seventh,  some  sail  was  got  on  her,  but  she  was  an  unwieldy 
vessel  at  the  best,  and  we  made  little  but  leeway.  All  the 
time,  indeed,  we  had  been  drifting  to  the  south  and  west, 
and  during  the  tempest  must  have  driven  in  that  direction 
with  unheard-of  violence.  The  ninth  dawn  was  cold  and 
black,  with  a  great  sea  running,  and  every  mark  of  foul 
weather.  In  this  situation,  we  were  overjoyed  to  sight  a 
small  ship  on  the  horizon,  and  to  perceive  her  go  about  and 
head  for  the  Sainte-Marie.  But  our  gratification  did  not 
very  long  endure;  for  when  she  had  laid  to  and  lowered  a 
boat,  it  was  immediately  filled  with  disorderly  fellows,  who 
sung  and  shouted  as  they  pulled  across  to  us,  and  swarmed 
in  on  our  deck  with  bare  cutlasses,  cursing  loudly.  Their 
leader  was  a  horrible  villain,  with  his  face  blacked  and  his 
whiskers  curled  in  ringlets:  Teach,  his  name;  a  most  no- 
torious pirate.  He  stamped  about  the  deck,  raving  and 
crying  out  that  his  name  was  Satan  and  his  ship  was  called 
'*  Hell."  There  was  something  about  him  like  a  wicked 
child  or  a  half-witted  person,  that  daunted  me  beyond  ex- 
pression. I  whispered  in  the  ear  of  Ballantrae  that  I  would 
not  be  the  last  to  volunteer  and  only  prayed  God  they 
might  be  short  of  hands ;  he  approved  my  purpose  with 
a  nod. 

'*  Bedad,"  said  I  to  Master  Teach,  "  if  you  are  Satan, 
here  is  a  devil  for  ye." 

The  word  pleased  him ;  and  (not  to  dwell  upon  these 
shocking  incidents)  Ballantrae  and  I  and  two  others  were 
taken  for  recruits,  while  the  skipper  and  all  the  rest  were 
cast  into  the  sea  by  the  method  of  walking  the  plank.  It 
was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  this  done ;  my  heart  died  within 
me  at  the  spectacle;  and  Master  Teach  or  one  of  his  aco- 

31 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

lytes  (for  my  head  was  too  much  lost  to  be  precise)  re- 
marked upon  my  pale  face  in  a  very  alarmin'g  manner.  I 
had  the  strength  to  cut  a  step  or  two  of  a  jig  and  cry  out 
some  ribaldry,  which  saved  me  for  that  time;  but  my  legs 
were  like  water  when  I  must  get  down  into  the  skiff  among 
these  miscreants ;  and  what  with  my  horror  of  my  company 
and  fear  of  the  monstrous  billows,  it  was  all  I  could  do 
to  keep  an  Irish  tongue  and  break  a  jest  or  two  as  we  were 
pulled  aboard.  By  the  blessing  of  God,  there  was  a  fiddle 
in  the  pirate  ship,  which  I  had  no  sooner  seen  than  I  fell 
upon;  and  in  my  quality  of  crowder,  I  had  the  heavenly 
good  luck  to  get  favor  in  their  eyes.  Crowding  Pat  was 
the  name  they  dubbed  me  with;  and  it  was  little  I  cared 
for  a  name  so  long  as  my  skin  was  whole. 

What  kind  of  a  pandemonium  that  vessel  was,  I  cannot 
describe,  but  she  was  commanded  by  a  lunatic,  and  might 
be  called  a  floating  Bedlam.  Drinking,  roaring,  singing, 
quarreling,  dancing,  they  were  never  all  sober  at  one  time; 
and  there  were  days  together  when,  if  a  squall  had  super- 
vened, it  must  have  sent  us  to  the  bottom,  or  if  a  king's  ship 
had  come  along,  it  would  have  found  us  quite  helpless  for 
defense.  Once  or  twice  we  sighted  a  sail,  and  if  we  were 
sober  enough,  overhauled  it,  God  forgive  us!  and  if  we 
were  all  too  drunk,  she  got  away,  and  I  would  bless  the 
saints  under  my  breath.  Teach  ruled,  if  you  can  call  that 
rule  which  brought  no  order,  by  the  terror  he  created ;  and 
I  observed  the  man  was  very  vain  of  his  position.  I  have 
known  marshals  of  France,  ay,  and  even  Highland  chief- 
tains that  were  less  openly  puffed  up ;  which  throws  a  singu- 
lar light  on  the  pursuit  of  honor  and  glory.  Indeed  the 
longer  we  live,  the  more  we  perceive  the  sagacity  of  Aristotle 
and  the  other  old  philosophers;  and  though  I  have  all  my 
life  been  eager  for  legitimate  distinctions,  I  can  lay  my 
hand  upon  my  heart,  at  the  end  of  my  career,  and  declare 
there  is  not  one — no,  nor  yet  life  itself — which  is  worth  ac- 
quiring or  preserving  at  the  slightest  cost  of  dignity. 

It  was  long  before  I  got  private  speech  of  Ballantrae; 
but  at  length  one  night  we  crept  out  upon  the  boltsprit, 

82 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

when  the  rest  were  better  employed,  and  commiserated  our 
position. 

"  None  can  deliver  us  but  the  saints,"  said  I. 

"  My  mind  is  very  different,"  said  Ballantrae ;  "  for  I 
am  going  to  deliver  myself.  This  Teach  is  the  poorest 
creature  possible;  we  make  no  profit  of  him  and  lie  con- 
tinually open  to  capture ;  and,"  says  he,  "  I  am  not  going 
to  be  a  tarry  pirate  for  nothing,  nor  yet  to  hang  in  chains 
if  I  can  help  it."  And  he  told  me  what  was  in  his  mind 
to  better  the  state  of  the  ship  in  the  way  of  discipline,  which 
would  give  us  safety  for  the  present,  and  a  sooner  hope  of 
deliverance  when  they  should  have  gained  enough  and  should 
break  up  their  company. 

I  confessed  to  him  ingenuously  that  my  nerve  was  quite 
shook  amid  these  horrible  surroundings,  and  I  durst  scarce 
tell  him  to  count  upon  me. 

"  I  am  not  very  easy  frightened,"  said  he,  "  nor  very 
easy  beat." 

A  few  days  after  there  befell  an  accident  which  had  nearly 
hanged  us  all,  and  offers  the  most  extraordinary  picture  of 
the  folly  that  ruled  in  our  concerns.  We  were  all  pretty 
drunk ;  and  some  bedlamite  spying  a  sail,  Teach  put  the 
ship  about  in  chase  without  a  glance,  and  we  began  to  bustle 
up  the  arms  and  boast  of  the  horrors  that  should  follow. 
I  observed  Ballantrae  stood  quiet  in  the  bows,  looking  under 
the  shade  of  his  hand;  but  for  my  part,  true  to  my  policy 
among  these  savages,  I  was  at  work  with  the  busiest,  and 
passing  Irish  jests  for  their  diversion. 

"  Run  up  the  colors,"  cries  Teach.  "  Show  the s  the 

Jolly  Roger ! " 

It  was  the  merest  drunken  braggadocio  at  such  a  stage, 
and  might  have  lost  us  a  valuable  prize;  but  I  thought  it 
no  part  of  mine  to  reason,  and  I  ran  up  the  black  flag  with 
my  own  hand. 

Ballantrae  steps  presently  aft  with  a  smile  upon  his  face. 

"  You  may  perhaps  like  to  know,  you  drunken  dog,"  says 
he,  "  that  you  are  chasing  a  king's  ship." 

Teach  roared  him  the  lie;    but  he  ran  at  the  same  time 

83 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

to  the  bulwarks,  and  so  did  they  all.  I  have  never  seen 
so  many  drunken  men  struck  suddenly  sober.  The  cruiser 
had  gone  about,  upon  our  impudent  display  of  colors;  she 
was  just  then  filling  on  the  new  tack;  her  ensign  blew  out 
quite  plain  to  see;  and  even  as  we  stared,  there  came  a  puff 
of  smoke,  and  then  a  report,  and  a  shot  plunged  in  the 
waves  a  good  way  short  of  us.  Some  ran  to  the  ropes  and 
got  the  Sarah  round  with  an  incredible  swiftness.  One 
fellow  fell  on  the  rum  barrel,  which  stood  broached  upon  the 
deck,  and  rolled  it  promptly  overboard.  On  my  part,  I 
made  for  the  Jolly  Roger,  struck  it,  tossed  it  in  the  sea, 
and  could  have  flung  myself  after,  so  vexed  was  I  with  our 
mismanagement.  As  for  Teach,  he  grew  as  pale  as  death, 
and  incontinently  went  down  to  his  cabin.  Only  twice  he 
came  on  deck  that  afternoon;  went  to  the  taffrail;  took 
a  long  look  at  the  king's  ship,  which  was  still  on  the  hori- 
zon heading  after  us;  and  then,  without  speech,  back  to 
his  cabin.  You  may  say  he  deserted  us ;  and  if  it  had  not 
been  for  one  very  capable  sailor  we  had  on  board,  and  for 
the  lightness  of  the  airs  that  blew  all  day,  we  must  certainly 
have  gone  to  the  yardarm. 

It  is  to  be  supposed  Teach  was  humiliated,  and  perhaps 
alarmed  for  his  position  with  the  crew;  and  the  way  in 
which  he  set  about  regaining  what  he  had  lost  was  highly 
characteristic  of  the  man.  Early  next  day  we  smelled  him 
burning  sulphur  in  his  cabin  and  crying  out  of  "  Hell,  hell !  " 
which  was  well  understood  among  the  crew,  and  filled  their 
minds  with  apprehension.  Presently  he  comes  on  deck,  a 
perfect  figure  of  fun,  his  face  blacked,  his  hair  and  whis- 
kers curled,  his  belt  stuck  full  of  pistols,  chewing  bits  of 
glass  so  that  the  blood  ran  down  his  chin,  and  brandishing 
a  dirk.  I  do  not  know  if  he  had  taken  these  manners  from 
the  Indians  of  America,  where  he  was  a  native;  but  such 
was  his  way,  and  he  would  always  thus  announce  that  he 
was  wound  up  to  horrid  deeds.  The  first  that  came  near 
him  was  the  fellow  who  had  sent  the  rum  overboard  the 
day  before;  him  he  stabbed  to  the  heart,  damning  him  for 
a  mutineer ;  and  then  he  capered  about  the  body,  raving  and 

34 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

swearing  and  daring  us  to  come  on.  It  was  the  silliest  ex- 
hibition; and  yet  dangerous  too,  for  the  cowardly  fellow 
was  plainly  working  himself  up  to  another  murder. 

All  of  a  sudden  Ballantrae  stepped  forth.  "  Have  done 
with  this  play-acting,"  says  he.  "  Do  you  think  to  frighten 
us  with  making  faces?  We  saw  nothing  of  you  yesterday 
when  you  were  wanted;  and  we  did  well  without  you,  let 
me  tell  you  that." 

There  was  a  murmur  and  a  movement  in  the  crew  of  pleas- 
ure and  alarm,  I  thought,  in  nearly  equal  parts.  As  for 
Teach,  he  gave  a  barbarous  howl,  and  swung  his  dirk  to 
fling  it,  an  art  in  which  (like  many  seamen)  he  was  very 
expert. 

"  Knock  that  out  of  his  hand ! "  says  Ballantrae,  so  sud- 
den and  sharp  that  my  arm  obeyed  him  before  my  mind  had 
understood. 

Teach  stood  like  one  stupid,  never  thinking  on  his  pistols. 

"  Go  down  to  your  cabin,"  cries  Ballantrae,  "  and  come 
on  deck  again  when  you  are  sober.  Do  you  think  we  are 
going  to  hang  for  you,  you  black-faced,  half-witted, 
drunken  brute  and  butcher  ?  Go  down ! "  And  he  stamped 
his  foot  at  him  with  such  a  sudden  smartness  that  Teach 
fairly  ran  for  it  to  the  companion. 

"  And  now,  mates,"  says  Ballantrae,  "  a  word  with  you. 
I  don't  know  if  you  are  gentlemen  of  fortune  for  the  fun 
of  the  thing;  but  I  am  not.  I  want  to  make  money,  and 
get  ashore  again,  and  spend  it  like  a  man.  And  on  one  thing 
my  mind  is  made  up :  I  will  not  hang  if  I  can  help  it.  Come : 
give  me  a  hint;  I'm  only  a  beginner!  Is  there  no  way  to 
get  a  little  discipline  and  common  sense  about  this  business?  " 

One  of  the  men  spoke  up:  he  said  by  rights  they  should 
have  a  quartermaster ;  and  no  sooner  was  the  word  out 
of  his  mouth,  than  they  were  all  of  that  opinion.  The 
thing  went  by  acclamation ;  Ballantrae  was  made  quarter- 
master, the  rum  was  put  in  his  charge,  laws  were  passed 
in  imitation  of  those  of  a  pirate  by  the  name  of  Roberts ; 
and  the  last  proposal  was  to  make  an  end  of  Teach.  But 
Ballantrae  was  afraid  of  a  more  efficient  captain,  who  might 

35 


THE  MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

be  a  counterweight  to  himself,  and  he  opposed  this  stoutly. 
Teach,  he  said,  was  good  enough  to  board  ships  and  frighten 
fools  with  his  blacked  face  and  swearing;  we  could  scarce 
get  a  better  man  than  Teach  for  that;  and  besides,  as 
the  man  was  now  disconsidered  and  as  good  as  deposed,  we 
might  reduce  his  proportion  of  the  plunder.  This  carried 
it;  Teach's  share  was  cut  down  to  a  mere  derision,  being 
actually  less  than  mine ;  and  there  remained  only  two  points : 
whether  he  would  consent,  and  who  was  to  announce  to  him 
this  resolution. 

"  Do  not  let  that  stick  you,"  says  Ballantrae,  "  I  will  do 
that." 

And  he  stepped  to  the  companion  and  down  alone  into 
the  cabin  to  face  that  drunken  savage. 

"  This  is  the  man  for  us,"  cries  one  of  the  hands.  "  Three 
cheers  for  the  quartermaster ! "  which  were  given  with  a 
will,  my  voice  among  the  loudest,  and  I  dare  say  these  plau- 
dits had  their  effect  on  Master  Teach  in  the  cabin,  as  we 
have  seen  of  late  days  how  shouting  in  the  streets  may 
trouble  even  the  minds  of  legislators. 

What  passed  precisely  was  never  known,  though  some 
of  the  heads  of  it  came  to  the  surface  later  on ;  and  we 
were  all  amazed  as  well  as  gratified  when  Ballantrae  came 
on  deck  with  Teach  upon  his  arm,  and  announced  that  all 
had  been  consented. 

I  pass  swiftly  over  those  twelve  or  fifteen  months  in  which 
we  continued  to  keep  the  sea  in  the  North  Atlantic,  getting 
our  food  and  water  from  the  ships  we  overhauled  and  doing 
on  the  whole  a  pretty  fortunate  business.  Sure  no  one  could 
wish  to  read  anything  so  ungenteel  as  the  memoirs  of  a 
pirate,  even  an  unwilling  one  like  me!  Things  went  ex- 
tremely better  with  our  designs,  and  Ballantrae  kept  his 
lead  to  my  admiration  from  that  day  forth.  I  would  be 
tempted  to  suppose  that  a  gentleman  must  everywhere  be 
first,  even  aboard  a  rover;  but  my  birth  is  every  whit  as 
good  as  any  Scottish  lord's,  and  I  am  not  ashamed  to  con- 
fess that  I  stayed  Crowding  Pat  until  the  end,  and  was  not 
much  better  than  the  crew's  buffoon.  Indeed  it  was  no 

36 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

scene  to  bring  out  my  merits.  My  health  suffered  from  a 
variety  of  reasons ;  I  was  more  at  home  to  the  last  on  a 
horse's  back  than  a  ship's  deck;  and  to  be  ingenuous,  the 
fear  of  the  sea  was  constantly  in  my  mind,  battling  with 
the  fear  of  my  companions.  I  need  not  cry  myself  up  for 
courage;  I  have  done  well  on  many  fields  under  the  eyes 
of  famous  generals,  and  earned  my  late  advancement  by 
an  act  of  the  most  distinguished  valor  before  many  witnesses. 
But  when  we  must  proceed  on  one  of  our  abordages,  the 
heart  of  Francis  Burke  was  in  his  boots ;  the  little  egg-shell 
skiff  in  which  we  must  set  forth,  the  horrible  heaving  of 
the  vast  billows,  the  height  of  the  ship  that  we  must  scale, 
the  thought  of  how  many  might  be  there  in  garrison  upon 
their  legitimate  defense,  the  scowling  heavens  which  (in  that 
climate)  so  often  looked  darkly  upon  our  exploits,  and 
the  mere  crying  of  the  wind  in  my  ears,  were  all  considera- 
tions most  unpalatable  to  my  valor.  Besides  which,  as  I 
was  always  a  creature  of  the  nicest  sensibility,  the  scenes 
.that  must  follow  on  our  success  tempted  me  as  little  as  the 
chances  of  defeat.  Twice  we  found  women  on  board;  and 
though  I  have  seen  towns  sacked,  and  of  late  days  in  France 
some  very  horrid  public  tumults,  there  was  something  in 
the  smallness  of  the  numbers  engaged  and  the  bleak,  danger- 
ous sea-surroundings  that  made  these  acts  of  piracy  far  the 
most  revolting.  I  confess  ingenuously  I  could  never  pro- 
ceed, unless  I  was  three  parts  drunk;  it  was  the  same  even 
with  the  crew;  Teach  himself  was  fit  for  no  enterprise  till 
he  was  full  of  rum;  and  it  was  one  of  the  most  difficult 
parts  of  Ballantrae's  performance  to  serve  us  with  liquor 
in  the  proper  quantities.  Even  this  he  did  to  admiration; 
being  upon  the  whole  the  most  capable  man  I  ever  met  with, 
and  the  one  of  the  most  natural  genius.  He  did  not  even 
scrape  favor  with  the  crew,  as  I  did,  by  continual  buffoon- 
ery made  upon  a  very  anxious  heart ;  but  preserved  on 
most  occasions  a  great  deal  of  gravity  and  distance;  so 
that  he  was  like  a  parent  among  a  family  of  young  children 
or  a  schoolmaster  with  his  boys.  What  made  his  part  the 
harder  to  perform,  the  men  were  most  inveterate  grumblers ; 

S7 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

Ballantrae's  discipline,  little  as  it  was,  was  yet  irksome  to 
their  love  of  license ;  and  what  was  worse,  being  kept  sober 
they  had  time  to  think.  Some  of  them  accordingly  would 
fall  to  repenting  their  abominable  crimes:  one  in  particu- 
lar, who  was  a  good  Catholic  and  with  whom  I  would  some- 
times steal  apart  for  prayer ;  above  all  in  bad  weather,  fogs, 
lashing  rain  and  the  like,  when  we  would  be  the  less  ob- 
served; and  I  am  sure  no  two  criminals  in  the  cart  have 
ever  performed  their  devotions  with  more  anxious  sincerity. 
But  the  rest,  having  no  such  grounds  of  hope,  fell  to  an- 
other pastime,  that  of  computation.  All  day  long  they  would 
be  telling  up  their  shares  or  glooming  over  the  result.  I 
have  said  we  were  pretty  fortunate.  But  an  observation 
fails  to  be  made:  that  in  this  world,  in  no  business  that  I 
have  tried,  do  the  profits  rise  to  a  man's  expectations.  We 
found  many  ships  and  took  many;  yet  few  of  them  con- 
tained much  money,  their  goods  were  usually  nothing  to  our 
purpose — what  did  we  want  with  a  cargo  of  plows  or  even 
of  tobacco? — and  it  is  quite  a  painful  reflection  how  many 
whole  crews  we  have  made  to  walk  the  plank  for  no  more 
than  a  stock  of  biscuit  or  an  anker  or  two  of  spirit. 

In  the  meanwhile,  our  ship  was  growing  very  foul,  and 
it  was  high  time  we  should  make  for  our  por  de  carrenage, 
which  was  in  the  estuary  of  a  river  among  swamps.  It  was 
openly  understood  that  we  should  then  break  up  and  go 
and  squander  our  proportions  of  the  spoil;  and  this  made 
every  man  greedy  of  a  little  more,  so  that  our  decision 
was  delayed  from  day  to  day.  What  finally  decided  matters 
was  a  trifling  accident,  such  as  an  ignorant  person  might 
suppose  incidental  to  our  way  of  life.  But  here  I  must  ex- 
plain: on  only  one  of  all  the  ships  we  boarded — the  first 
on  which  we  found  women — did  we  meet  with  any  genuine 
resistance.  On  that  occasion  we  had  two  men  killed,  and  sev- 
eral injured,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  gallantry  of 
Ballantrae,  we  had  surely  been  beat  back  at  last.  Everywhere 
else  the  defense  (where  there  was  any  at  all)  was  what  the 
worst  troops  in  Europe  would  have  laughed  at;  so  that  the 
most  dangerous  part  of  our  employment  was  to  clamber 

38 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

up  the  side  of  the  ship;  and  I  have  even  known  the  poor 
souls  on  board  to  cast  us  a  line,  so  eager  were  they  to  vol- 
unteer instead  of  walking  the  plank.  This  constant  im- 
munity had  made  our  fellows  very  soft,  so  that  I  understood 
how  Teach  had  made  so  deep  a  mark  upon  their  minds ;  for 
indeed  the  company  of  that  lunatic  was  the  chief  danger  in 
our  way  of  life.  The  accident  to  which  I  have  referred 
was  this.  We  had  sighted  a  little  full-rigged  ship  very  close 
under  our  board  in  a  haze;  she  sailed  near  as  well  as  we 
did — I  should  be  near  the  truth  if  I  said  near  as  ill;  and 
we  cleared  the  bow  chaser  to  see  if  we  could  bring  a  spar 
or  two  about  their  ears.  The  swell  was  exceeding  great; 
the  motion  of  the  ship  beyond  description ;  it  was  little 
wonder  if  our  gunners  should  fire  thrice  and  be  still  quite 
broad  of  what  they  aimed  at.  But  in  the  meanwhile  the 
chase  had  cleared  a  stern  gun,  the  thickness  of  the  air  con- 
cealing them ;  being  better  marksmen,  their  first  shot  struck 
us  in  the  bows,  knocked  our  two  gunners  into  mince-meat, 
so  that  we  were  all  sprinkled  with  the  blood,  and  plunged 
through  the  deck  into  the  forecastle,  where  we  slept.  Bal- 
lantrae  would  have  held  on;  indeed  there  was  nothing  in 
this  contretemps  to  affect  the  mind  of  any  soldier;  but  he 
had  a  quick  perception  of  the  men's  wishes,  and  it  was  plain 
this  lucky  shot  had  given  them  a  sickener  of  their  trade. 
In  a  moment  they  were  all  of  one  mind :  the  chase  was  draw- 
ing away  from  us,  it  was  needless  to  hold  on,  the  Sarah 
was  too  foul  to  overhaul  a  bottle,  it  was  mere  foolery  to 
keep  the  sea  with  her;  and  on  these  pretended  grounds  her 
head  was  incontinently  put  about  and  the  course  laid  for 
the  river.  It  was  strange  to  see  what  merriment  fell  on 
that  ship's  company,  and  how  they  stamped  about  the  deck 
jesting,  and  each  computing  what  increase  had  come  to  his 
share  by  the  death  of  the  two  gunners. 

We  were  nine  days  making  our  port,  so  light  were  the 
airs  we  had  to  sail  on,  so  foul  the  ship's  bottom ;  but  early 
on  the  tenth,  before  dawn,  and  in  a  light,  lifting  haze,  we 
passed  the  head.  A  little  after,  the  haze  lifted,  and  fell 
again,  showing  us  a  cruiser  very  close.  This  was  a  sore 

89 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

blow,  happening  so  near  our  refuge.  There  was  a  great 
debate  of  whether  she  had  seen  us,  and  if  so  whether  it 
was  likely  they  had  recognized  the  Sarah.  We  were  very 
careful,  by  destroying  every  member  of  those  crews  we 
overhauled,  to  leave  no  evidence  as  to  our  own  persons;  but 
the  appearance  of  the  Sarah  herself  we  could  not  keep  so 
private;  and  above  all  of  late,  since  she  had  been  foul  and 
we  had  pursued  many  ships  without  success,  it  was  plain 
that  her  description  had  been  often  published.  I  supposed 
this  alert  would  have  made  us  separate  upon  the  instant. 
But  here  again  that  original  genius  of  Ballantrae's  had  a 
surprise  in  store  for  me.  He  and  Teach  (and  it  was  the  most 
remarkable  step  of  his  success)  had  gone  hand  in  hand  since 
the  first  day  of  his  appointment.  I  often  questioned  him  upon 
the  fact,  and  never  got  an  answer  but  once,  when  he  told  me 
he  and  Teach  had  an  understanding  "  which  would  very  much 
surprise  the  crew  if  they  should  hear  of  it,  and  would  surprise 
himself  a  good  deal  if  it  was  carried  out."  Well,  here  again 
he  and  Teach  were  of  a  mind;  and  by  their  joint  procure- 
ment, the  anchor  was  no  sooner  down  than  the  whole  crew 
went  off  on  a  scene  of  drunkenness  indescribable.  By  after- 
noon we  were  a  mere  shipful  of  lunatical  persons,  throwing 
of  things  overboard,  howling  of  different  songs  at  the  same 
time,  quarreling  and  falling  together  and  then  forgetting 
our  quarrels  to  embrace.  Ballantrae  had  bidden  me  drink 
nothing  and  feign  drunkenness  as  I  valued  my  life;  and  I 
have  never  passed  a  day  so  wearisomely,  lying  the  best  part 
of  the  time  upon  the  forecastle  and  watching  the  swamps  and 
thickets  by  which  our  little  basin  was  entirely  surrounded  for 
the  eye.  A  little  after  dusk  Ballantrae  stumbled  up  to  my 
side,  feigned  to  fall,  with  a  drunken  laugh,  and  before  he  got 
his  feet  again  whispered  to  me  to  "  reel  down  into  the  cabin 
and  seem  to  fall  asleep  upon  a  locker,  for  there  would  be  need 
of  me  soon."  I  did  as  I  was  told,  and  coming  into  the  cabin, 
where  it  was  quite  dark,  let  myself  fall  on  the  first  locker. 
There  was  a  man  there  already:  by  the  way  he  stirred  and 
threw  me  off,  I  could  not  think  he  was  much  in  liquor ;  and  yet 
when  I  had  found  another  place,  he  seemed  to  continue  to  sleep 

40 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

on.  My  heart  now  beat  very  hard,  for  I  saw  some  desperate 
matter  was  in  act.  Presently  down  came  Ballantrae,  lighted 
the  lamp,  looked  about  the  cabin,  nodded  as  if  pleased,  and  on 
deck  again  without  a  word.  I  peered  out  from  between  my 
fingers,  and  saw  there  were  three  of  us  slumbering,  or  feign- 
ing to  slumber,  on  the  lockers:  myself,  one  Dutton  and  one 
Grady,  both  resolute  men.  On  deck  the  rest  were  got  to  a 
pitch  of  revelry  quite  beyond  the  bounds  of  what  is  human ; 
so  that  no  reasonable  name  can  describe  the  sounds  they  were 
now  making.  I  have  heard  many  a  drunken  bout  in  my  time, 
many  on  board  that  very  Sarah,  but  never  anything  the  least 
like  this,  which  made  me  early  suppose  the  liquor  had  been 
tampered  with.  It  was  a  long  while  before  these  yells  and 
howls  died  out  into  a  sort  of  miserable  moaning,  and  then  to 
silence;  and  it  seemed  a  long  while  after  that  before  Bal- 
lantrae came  down  again,  this  time  with  Teach  upon  his  heels. 
The  latter  cursed  at  the  sight  of  us  three  upon  the  lockers. 

"  Tut,"  says  Ballantrae,  "  you  might  fire  a  pistol  at  their 
ears.  You  know  what  stuff  they  have  been  swallowing." 

There  was  a  hatch  in  the  cabin  floor,  and  under  that  the 
richest  part  of  the  booty  was  stored  against  the  day  of 
division.  It  fastened  with  a  ring  and  three  padlocks,  the 
keys  (for  greater  security)  being  divided:  one  to  Teach,  one 
to  Ballantrae,  and  one  to  the  mate,  a  man  called  Hammond. 
Yet  I  was  amazed  to  see  they  were  now  all  in  the  one  hand ; 
and  yet  more  amazed  (still  looking  through  my  fingers)  to 
observe  Ballantrae  and  Teach  bring  up  several  packets,  four 
of  them  in  all,  very  carefully  made  up  and  with  a  loop  for 
carriage. 

"  And  now,"  says  Teach,  "  let  us  be  going." 

*  One  word,"  says  Ballantrae.  "  I  have  discovered  there 
is  another  man  besides  yourself  who  knows  a  private  path 
across  the  swamp.  And  it  seems  it  is  shorter  than  yours." 

Teach  cried  out  in  that  case  they  were  undone. 

*'  I  do  not  know  that,"  says  Ballantrae.  "  For  there  are 
several  other  circumstances  with  which  I  must  acquaint  you. 
Pirst  of  all,  there  is  no  bullet  in  your  pistols,  which  (if  you 
remember)  I  was  kind  enough  to  load  for  both  of  us  this 

41 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

morning.  Secondly,  as  there  is  some  one  else  who  knows  a 
passage,  you  must  think  it  highly  improbable  I  should  saddle 
myself  with  a  lunatic  like  you.  Thirdly,  these  gentlemen  (who 
need  no  longer  pretend  to  be  asleep)  are  those  of  my  party, 
and  will  now  proceed  to  gag  and  bind  you  to  the  mast ;  and 
when  your  men  awaken  (if  they  ever  do  awake  after  the  drugs 
we  have  mingled  in  their  liquor)  I  am  sure  they  will  be  so 
obliging  as  to  deliver  you,  and  you  will  have  no  difficulty,  I 
dare  say,  to  explain  the  business  of  the  keys." 

Not  a  word  said  Teach,  but  looked  at  us  like  a  frightened 
baby,  as  we  gagged  and  bound  him. 

"  Now  you  see,  you  moon-calf,"  says  Ballantrae,  "  why  we 
make  four  packets.  Heretofore  you  have  been  called  Captain 
Teach,  but  I  think  you  are  now  rather  Captain  Learn." 

That  was  our  last  word  on  board  the  Sarah;  we  four  with 
our  four  packets  lowered  ourselves  softly  into  a  skiff,  and  left 
that  ship  behind  us  as  silent  as  the  grave,  only  for  the  moan- 
ing of  some  of  the  drunkards.  There  was  a  fog  about  breast- 
high  on  the  waters ;  so  that  Button,  who  knew  the  passage, 
must  stand  on  his  feet  to  direct  our  rowing;  and  this, 
as  it  forced  us  to  row  gently,  was  the  means  of  our  deliv- 
erance. 

We  were  yet  but  a  little  way  from  the  ship,  when  it  began 
to  come  gray,  and  the  birds  to  fly  abroad  upon  the  water. 
All  of  a  sudden  Dutton  clapped  down  upon  his  hams,  and 
whispered  us  to  be  silent  for  our  lives,  and  hearken.  Sure 
enough,  we  heard  a  little  faint  creak  of  oars  upon  one  hand, 
and  then  again,  and  further  off,  a  creak  of  oars  upon  the 
other.  It  was  clear  we  had  been  sighted  yesterday  in  the 
morning ;  here  were  the  cruiser's  boats  to  cut  us  out ;  here  we 
were  defenseless  in  their  very  midst.  Sure,  never  were  poor 
souls  more  perilously  placed ;  and  as  we  lay  there  on  our  oars, 
praying  God  the  mist  might  hold,  the  sweat  poured  from  my 
brow.  Presently  we  heard  one  of  the  boats,  where  we  might 
have  thrown  a  biscuit  in  her.  "  Softly,  men,"  we  heard  an 
officer  whisper ;  and  I  marveled  they  could  not  hear  the  drum- 
ming of  my  heart. 

"  Never  mind  the  path,"  says  Ballantrae,  "  we  must  get 

42 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

shelter  anyhow ;  let  us  pull  straight  ahead  for  the  sides  of  the 
basin." 

This  we  did  with  the  most  anxious  precaution,  rowing,  as 
best  we  could,  upon  our  hands,  and  steering  at  a  venture  in 
the  fog,  which  was  (for  all  that)  our  only  safety.  But 
Heaven  guided  us ;  we  touched  ground  at  a  thicket ;  scrambled 
ashore  with  our  treasure;  and  having  no  other  way  of  con- 
cealment, and  the  mist  beginning  already  to  lighten,  hove 
down  the  skiff  and  let  her  sink.  We  were  still  but  new  under 
cover  when  the  sun  rose ;  and  at  the  same  time,  from  the  midst 
of  the  basin,  a  great  shouting  of  seamen  sprung  up,  and  we 
knew  the  Sarah  was  being  boarded.  I  heard  afterward  the 
officer  that  took  her  got  great  honor;  and  it's  true  the  ap- 
proach was  creditably  managed,  but  I  think  he  had  an  easy 
capture  when  he  came  to  board.* 

I  was  still  blessing  the  saints  for  my  escape,  when  I  became 
aware  we  were  in  trouble  of  another  kind.  We  were  here 
landed  at  random  in  a  vast  and  dangerous  swamp ;  and  how 
to  come  at  the  path  was  a  concern  of  doubt,  fatigue,  and 
peril.  Dutton,  indeed,  was  of  opinion  we  should  wait  until 
the  ship  was  gone,  and  fish  up  the  skiff ;  f  pr  any  delay  would 
be  more  wise  than  to  go  blindly  ahead  in  that  morass.  One 
went  back  accordingly  to  the  basin-side  and  (peering  through 
the  thicket)  saw  the  fog  already  quite  drunk  up  and  English 
colors  flying  on  the  Sarah,  but  no  movement  made  to  get  her 
under  way. 

Our  situation  was  now  very  doubtful.  The  swamp  was  an 
unhealthf ul  place  to  linger  in ;  we  had  been  so  greedy  to  bring 
treasures  that  we  had  brought  but  little  food;  it  was  highly 
desirable,  besides,  that  we  should  get  clear  of  the  neighbor- 
hood and  into  the  settlements  before  the  news  of  the  capture 
went  abroad;  and  against  all  these  considerations  there  was 
only  the  peril  of  the  passage  on  the  other  side.  I  think  it  not 
wonderful  we  decided  on  the  active  part. 

*  Not*  by  Mr.  Mackellar. — This  Teach  of  the  Sarah  must  not  be  con- 
fined with  the  celebrated  "  Blackboard."  The  dates  and  facts  by  no 
means  tally.  It  i>  possible  the  second  Teach  may  have  at  once  borrowed 
the  name  and  imitated  the  more  excessive  part  of  his  manners  from  the 
first.  Even  the  Master  of  Ballantrac  could  make  admirers. 

43 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

It  was  already  blistering  hot  when  we  set  forth  to  pass  the 
marsh,  or  rather  to  strike  the  path,  by  compass.  Dutton 
took  the  compass,  and  one  or  other  of  us  three  carried  his 
proportion  of  the  treasure;  I  promise  you  he  kept  a  sharp 
eye  to  his  rear,  for  it  was  like  the  man's  soul  that  he  must 
trust  us  with.  The  thicket  was  as  close  as  a  bush ;  the  ground 
very  treacherous,  so  that  we  often  sunk  in  the  most  terrifying 
manner,  and  must  go  round  about;  the  heat,  besides,  was 
stifling;  the  air  singularly  heavy,  and  the  stinging  insects 
abounded  in  such  myriads  that  each  of  us  walked  under  his 
own  cloud.  It  has  often  been  commented  on  how  much  better 
gentlemen  of  birth  endure  fatigue  than  persons  of  the  rabble ; 
so  that  walking  officers,  who  must  tramp  in  the  dirt  beside 
their  men,  shame  them  by  their  constancy.  This  was  well  to 
be  observed  in  the  present  instance ;  for  here  were  Ballantrae 
and  I,  two  gentlemen  of  the  highest  breeding,  on  the  one 
hand;  and  on  the  other,  Grady,  a  common  mariner,  and  a 
man  nearly  a  giant  in  physical  strength.  The  case  of  Dut- 
ton is  not  in  point,  for  I  confess  he  did  as  well  as  any  of  us.* 
But  as  for  Grady,  he  began  early  to  lament  his  case,  tailed  in 
the  rear,  refused  to  carry  Dutton's  packet  when  it  came  his 
turn,  clamored  continually  for  rum  (of  which  we  had  too 
little)  and  at  last  even  threatened  us  from  behind  with  a 
cocked  pistol,  unless  we  should  allow  him  rest.  Ballantrae 
would  have  fought  it  out,  I  believe ;  but  I  prevailed  with  him 
the  other  way ;  and  we  made  a  stop  and  ate  a  meal.  It  seemed 
to  benefit  Grady  little;  he  was  in  the  rear  again  at  once, 
growling  and  bemoaning  his  lot;  and  at  last,  by  some  care- 
lessness, not  having  followed  properly  in  our  tracks,  stumbled 
into  a  deep  part  of  the  slough  where  it  was  mostly  water,  gave 
some  very  dreadful  screams,  and  before  we  could  come  to  his 
aid,  had  sunk  along  with  his  booty.  His  fate  and  above  all 
these  screams  of  his  appalled  us  to  the  soul ;  yet  it  was  on  the 
whole  a  fortunate  circumstance  and  the  means  of  our  deliver- 
ance. For  it  moved  Dutton  to  mount  into  a  tree,  whence  he 

*Note  by  Mr.  Mackellar.—And  is  not  this  the  whole  explanation? 
since  this  Dutton,  exactly  like  the  officers,  enjoyed  the  stimulus  of  some 
responsibility. 

44 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

was  able  to  perceive  and  to  show  me,  who  had  climbed  after 
him,  a  high  piece  of  the  wood  which  was  a  landmark  for  the 
path.  He  went  forward  the  more  carelessly,  I  must  .suppose ; 
for  presently  we  saw  him  sink  a  little  down,  draw  up  his  feet 
and  sink  again,  and  so  twice.  Then  he  turned  his  face  to  us, 
pretty  white. 

"  Lend  a  hand,"  said  he,  "  I  am  in  a  bad  place." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  says  Ballantrae,  standing  still. 

Button  broke  out  into  the  most  violent  oaths,  sinking  a  lit- 
tle lower  as  he  did,  so  that  the  mud  was  nearly  to  his  waist; 
and  plucking  a  pistol  from  his  belt,  "  Help  me,"  he  cries,  *'  or 
die  and  be  damned  to  you !  " 

"  Nay,"  says  Ballantrae,  "  I  did  but  jest.  I  am  coming." 
And  he  set  down  his  own  packet  and  Button's,  which  he  was 
then  carrying.  "  Do  not  venture  near  till  we  see  if  you  are 
needed,"  said  he  to  me,  and  went  forward  alone  to  where  the 
man  was  bogged.  He  was  quiet  now,  though  he  still  held  the 
pistol ;  and  the  marks  of  terror  in  his  countenance  were  very 
moving  to  behold. 

"  For  the  Lord's  sake,"  says  he,  "  look  sharp." 

Ballantrae  was  now  got  close  up.  "  Keep  still,"  gays  he, 
and  seemed  to  consider ;  and  then  "  Reach  out  both  your 
hands ! " 

Dutton  laid  down  his  pistol,  and  so  watery  was  the  top 
surface  that  it  went  clear  out  of  sight;  with  an  oath  he 
stooped  to  snatch  it ;  and  as  he  did  so  Ballantrae  leaned  forth 
and  stabbed  him  between  the  shoulders.  Up  went  his  hands 
over  his  head,  I  know  not  whether  with  the  pain  or  to  ward 
himself,  and  the  next  moment  he  doubled  forward  in  the 
mud. 

Ballantrae  was  already  over  the  ankles,  but  he  plucked 
himself  out  and  came  back  to  me,  where  I  stood  with  my  knees 
smiting  one  another.  "  The  devil  take  you,  Francis !  "  says 
he.  "  I  believe  you  are  a  half-hearted  fellow  after  all.  I 
have  only  done  justice  on  a  pirate.  And  here  we  are  quite 
clear  of  the  Sarah!  Who  shall  now  say  that  we  have  dipped 
our  hands  in  any  irregularities?" 

I  assured  him  he  did  me  injustice;  but  my  sense  of  human- 

45 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

ity  was  so  much  affected  by  the  horridness  of  the  fact  that  I 
could  scarce  find  breath  to  answer  with. 

"  Come,"  said  he,  "  you  must  be  more  resolved.  The  need 
for  this  fellow  ceased  when  he  had  shown  you  where  the  path 
ran ;  and  you  cannot  deny  I  would  have  been  daft  to  let  slip 
so  fair  an  opportunity." 

I  could  not  deny  but  he  was  right  in  principle;  nor  yet 
'could  I  refrain  from  shedding  tears,  of  which  I  think  no  man 
of  valor  need  have  been  ashamed ;  and  it  was  not  until  I  had 
a  share  of  the  rum  that  I  was  able  to  proceed.  I  repeat  I  am 
far  from  ashamed  of  my  generous  emotion ;  mercy  is  honor-1 
able  in  the  warrior ;  and  yet  I  cannot  altogether  censure  Bal- 
lantrae,  whose  step  was  really  fortunate,  as  we  struck  the 
path  without  further  misadventure,  and  the  same  night,  about 
sundown,  came  to  the  edge  of  the  morass. 

We  were  too  weary  to  seek  far;  on  some  dry  sands,  still 
warm  with  the  day's  sun,  and  close  under  a  wood  of  pines,  we 
lay  down  and  were  instantly  plunged  in  sleep. 

We  awaked  the  next  morning  very  early,  and  began  with  a 
sullen  spirit  a  conversation  that  came  near  to  end  in  blows. 
We  were  now  cast  on  shore  in  the  southern  provinces,  thou- 
sands of  miles  from  any  French  settlement;  a  dreadful  jour- 
ney and  a  thousand  perils  lay  in  front  of  us ;  and  sure,  if 
there  was  ever  need  for  amity,  it  was  in  such  an  hour.  I  must 
suppose  that  Ballantrae  had  suffered  in  his  sense  of  what  is 
truly  polite ;  indeed,  and  there  is  nothing  strange  in  the  idea, 
after  the  sea-wolves  we  had  consorted  with  so  long ;  and  as  for 
myself  he  fubbed  me  off  unhandsomely,  and  any  gentleman 
would  have  resented  his  behavior. 

I  told  him  in  what  light  I  saw  his  conduct :  he  walked  a  little 
off,  I  following  to  upbraid  him;  and  at  last  he  stopped  me 
with  his  hand. 

"Frank,"  says  he,  "you  know  what  we  swore;  and  yet 
there  is  no  oath  invented  would  induce  me  to  swallow  such 
expressions,  if  I  did  not  regard  you  with  sincere  affection. 
It  is  impossible  you  should  doubt  me  there:  I  have  given 
proofs.  Dutton  I  had  to  take,  because  he  knew  the  pass,  and 
Grady  because  Dutton  would  not  move  without  him;  but 

46 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

what  call  was  there  to  carry  you  along?  You  are  a  perpetual 
danger  to  me  with  your  cursed  Irish  tongue.  By  rights  you 
should  now  be  in  irons  in  the  cruiser.  And  you  quarrel  with 
me  like  a  baby  for  some  trinkets !  " 

I  considered  this  one  of  the  most  unhandsome  speeches  ever 
made ;  and  indeed  to  this  day  I  can  scarce  reconcile  it  to  my 
notion  of  a  gentleman  that  was  my  friend.  I  retorted  upon 
him  with  his  Scotch  accent,  of  which  he  had  not  so  much  as 
some,  but  enough  to  be  very  barbarous  and  disgusting,  as  I 
told  him  plainly ;  and  the  affair  would  have  gone  to  a  great 
length,  but  for  an  alarming  intervention. 

We  had  got  some  way  off  upon  the  sand.  The  place  where 
we  had  slept,  with  the  packets  lying  undone  and  the  money 
scattered  openly,  was  now  between  us  and  the  pines;  and  it 
was  out  of  these  the  stranger  must  have  come.  There  he  was 
at  least,  a  great  hulking  fellow  of  the  country,  with  a  broad- 
ax  on  his  shoulder,  looking  open-mouthed,  now  at  the  treasure 
which  was  just  at  his  feet,  and  now  at  our  disputation  in 
which  we  had  gone  far  enough  to  have  weapons  in  our  hands. 
We  had  no  sooner  observed  him  than  he  found  his  legs  and 
made  off  again  among  the  pines. 

This  was  no  scene  to  put  our  minds  at  rest;  a  couple  of 
armed  men  in  sea-clothes  found  quarreling  over  a  treasure, 
not  many  miles  from  where  a  pirate  had  been  captured — here 
was  enough  to  bring  the  whole  country  about  our  ears.  The 
quarrel  was  not  even  made  up ;  it  was  blotted  from  our  minds ; 
and  we  got  our  packets  together  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye 
and  made  off,  running  with  the  best  will  in  the  world.  But 
the  trouble  was,  we  did  not  know  in  what  direction,  and  must 
continually  return  upon  our  steps.  Ballantrae  had  indeed 
collected  what  he  could  from  Dutton ;  but  it's  hard  to  travel 
upon  hearsay;  and  the  estuary,  which  spreads  into  a  vast 
irregular  harbor,  turned  us  off  upon  every  side  with  a  new 
stretch  of  water. 

We  were  near  beside  ourselves  and  already  quite  spent  with 
running,  when  coming  to  the  top  of  a  dune,  we  saw  we  were 
again  cut  off  bj  another  ramification  of  the  bay.  This  was 
a  creek,  however,  very  different  from  those  that  had  arrested 

47 


THE  MASTER  OI    BALLANTRAE 

us  before ;  being  set  in  rocks,  and  so  precipitously  deep  that 
a  small  vessel  was  able  to  lie  alongside,  made  fast  with  a 
hawser;  and  her  crew  had  laid  a  plank  to  the  shore.  Here 
they  had  lighted  a  fire  and  were  sitting  at  their  meal.  As  for 
the  vessel  herself,  she  was  one  of  those  they  build  in  the 
Bermudas. 

The  love  of  gold  and  the  great  hatred  that  everybody  has 
to  pirates  were  motives  of  the  most  influential,  and  would 
certainly  raise  the  country  in  our  pursuit.  Besides,  it  was 
now  plain  we  were  on  some  sort  of  straggling  peninsula  like 
the  fingers  of  a  hand ;  and  the  wrist,  or  passage  to  the  main- 
land, which  we  should  have  taken  at  the  first,  was  by  this  time 
not  improbably  secured.  These  considerations  put  us  on  a 
bolder  counsel.  For  as  long  as  we  dared,  looking  every  mo- 
ment to  hear  sounds  of  the  chase,  we  lay  among  some  bushes 
on  the  top  of  the  dune;  and  having  by  this  means  secured  a 
little  breath  and  recomposed  our  appearance,  we  strolled 
down  at  last,  with  a  great  affectation  of  carelessness,  to  the 
party  by  the  fire. 

It  was  a  trader  and  his  negroes,  belonging  to  Albany  in 
the  province  of  New  York,  and  now  on  the  way  home  from 
the  Indies  with  a  cargo ;  his  name  I  cannot  recall.  We  were 
amazed  to  learn  he  had  put  in  here  from  terror  of  the  Sarah; 
for  we  had  no  thought  our  exploits  had  been  so  notorious. 
As  soon  as  the  Albanian  heard  she  had  been  taken  the  day 
before,  he  jumped  to  his  feet,  gave  us  a  cup  of  spirits  for  our 
good  news,  and  sent  his  negroes  to  get  sail  on  the  Bermudan. 
On  our  side,  we  profited  by  the  dram  to  become  more  con- 
fidential, and  at  last  offered  ourselves  as  passengers.  He 
looked  askance  at  our  tarry  clothes  and  pistols,  and  replied 
civilly  enough  that  he  had  scarce  accommodation  for  himself ; 
nor  could  either  our  prayers  or  our  offers  of  money,  in  which 
we  advanced  pretty  far,  avail  to  shake  him. 

"  I  see  you  think  ill  of  us,"  says  Ballantrae,  "  but  I  will 
show  you  how  well  we  think  of  you  by  telling  you  the  truth. 
We  are  Jacobite  fugitives,  and  there  is  a  price  upon  our 
heads." 

At  this  the  Albanian  was  plainly  moved  a  little.    He  asked 

48 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

us  many  questions  as  to  the  Scotch  war,  which  Ballantrae 
rery  patiently  answered.  And  then,  with  a  wink,  in  a  vulgar 
manner,  "  I  guess  you  and  your  Prince  Charlie  got  more  than 
you  cared  about,"  said  he. 

"  Bedad,  and  that  we  did,"  said  I.  "  And,  my  dear  man,  I 
wish  you  would  set  a  new  example  and  give  us  just  that 
much." 

This  I  said  in  the  Irish  way,  about  which  there  is  allowed 
to  be  something  very  engaging.  It's  a  remarkable  thing, 
and  a  testimony  to  the  love  with  which  our  nation  is  regarded, 
that  this  address  scarce  ever  fails  in  a  handsome  fellow.  I 
cannot  tell  how  often  I  have  seen  a  private  soldier  escape  the 
horse,  or  a  beggar  wheedle  out  a  good  alms,  by  a  touch  of 
the  brogue.  And  indeed,  as  soon  as  the  Albanian  had  laughed 
«t  me  I  was  pretty  much  at  rest.  Even  then,  however,  he 
made  many  conditions  and  (for  one  thing)  took  away  our 
arms,  before  he  suffered  us  on  board,  which  was  the  signal  to 
cast  off ;  so  that  in  a  moment  after  we  were  gliding  down  the 
bay  with  a  good  breeze  and  blessing  the  name  of  God  for  our 
deliverance.  Almost  in  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  we  passed 
the  cruiser,  and  a  little  after,  the  poor  Sarah  with  her  prize 
crew;  and  these  were  both  sights  to  make  us  tremble.  The 
Bermudan  seemed  a  very  safe  place  to  be  in,  and  our  bold 
stroke  to  have  been  fortunately  played,  when  we  were  thus 
reminded  of  the  case  of  our  companions.  For  all  that,  we 
had  only  exchanged  traps,  jumped  out  of  the  frying-pan  into 
the  fire,  run  from  the  yardarm  to  the  block,  and  escaped  the 
open  hostility  of  the  man-of-war  to  lie  at  the  mercy  of  the 
doubtful  faith  of  our  Albanian  merchant. 

From  many  circumstances,  it  chanced  we  were  safer  than 
we  could  have  dared  to  hope.  The  town  of  Albany  was  at 
that  time  much  concerned  in  contraband  trade  across  the 
desert  with  the  Indians  and  the  French.  This,  as  it  was 
highly  illegal,  relaxed  their  loyalty,  and  as  it  brought  them 
in  relation  with  the  politest  people  on  the  earth,  divided  even 
their  sympathies.  In  short,  they  were  like  all  the  smugglers 
in  the  world,  spies  and  agents  ready-made  for  either  party. 
Our  Albanian,  besides,  was  a  very  honest  man  indeed,  and 
49 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

very  greedy;  and  to  crown  our  luck,  he  conceived  a  great 
delight  in  our  society.  Before  we  had  reached  the  town  of 
New  York  we  had  come  to  a  full  agreement ;  that  he  should 
carry  us  as  far  as  Albany  upon  his  ship,  and  thence  put  us 
on  a  way  to  pass  the  boundaries  and  join  the  French.  For 
all  this  we  were  to  pay  at  a  high  rate ;  but  beggars  cannot  be 
choosers,  nor  outlaws  bargainers. 

We  sailed,  then,  up  the  Hudson  River  which,  I  protest,  is 
a  very  fine  stream,  and  put  up  at  the  King's  Arms  in  Albany. 
The  town  was  full  of  the  militia  of  the  province,  breathing 
slaughter  against  the  French.  Governor  Clinton  was  there 
himself,  a  very  busy  man,  and,  by  what  I  could  learn,  very 
near  distracted  by  the  factiousness  of  his  Assembly.  The 
Indians  on  both  sides  were  on  the  war-path;  we  saw  parties 
of  them  bringing  in  prisoners  and  (what  was  much  worse) 
scalps,  both  male  and  female,  for  which  they  were  paid  at  a 
fixed  rate;  and  I  assure  you  the  sight  was  not  encouraging. 
Altogether  we  could  scarce  have  come  at  a  period  more  un- 
suitable for  our  designs;  our  position  in  the  chief  inn  was 
dreadfully  conspicuous;  our  Albanian  fubbed  us  off  with  a 
thousand  delays  and  seemed  upon  the  point  of  a  retreat  from 
his  engagements ;  nothing  but  peril  appeared  to  environ  the 
poor  fugitives;  and  for  some  time  we  drowned  our  concern 
in  a  very  irregular  course  of  living. 

This  too  proved  to  be  fortunate;  and  it's  one  of  the  re- 
marks that  fall  to  be  made  upon  our  escape,  how  provi- 
dentially our  steps  were  conducted  to  the  very  end.  What  a 
humiliation  to  the  dignity  of  man!  My  philosophy,  the  ex- 
traordinary genius  of  Ballantrae,  our  valor,  in  which  I  grant 
that  we  were  equal — all  these  might  have  proved  insufficient 
without  the  Divine  blessing  on  our  efforts.  And  how  true  it 
is,  as  the  church  tells  us,  that  the  truths  of  religion  are  after 
all  quite  applicable  even  to  daily  affairs !  At  least  it  was  in 
the  course  of  our  revelry  that  we  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
spirited  youth  by  the  name  of  Chew.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  daring  of  the  Indian  traders,  very  well  acquainted  with 
the  secret  paths  of  the  wilderness,  needy,  dissolute,  and  by  a 
last  good  fortune,  in  some  disgrace  with  his  family.  Him  we 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

persuaded  to  come  to  our  relief;  he  privately  provided  what 
was  needful  for  our  flight;  and  one  day  we  slipped  out  of 
Albany,  without  a  word  to  our  former  friend,  and  embarked 
a  little  above,  in  a  canoe. 

To  the  toils  and  perils  of  this  journey,  it  would  require  a 
pen  more  elegant  than  mine  to  do  full  justice.  The  reader 
must  conceive  for  himself  the  dreadful  wilderness  which  we 
had  now  to  thread;  its  thickets,  swamps,  precipitous  rocks 
impetuous  rivers,  and  amazing  water-falls.  Among  these 
barbarous  scenes  we  must  toil  all  day,  now  paddling,  now 
carrying  our  canoe  upon  our  shoulders  ;  and  at  night  we  slept 
about  a  fire,  surrounded  by  the  howling  of  wolves  and  other 
savage  animals.  It  was  our  design  to  mount  the  head-waters 
of  the  Hudson,  to  the  neighborhood  of  Crown  Point,  where 
the  French  had  a  strong  place  in  the  woods,  upon  Lake 
Champlain.  But  to  have  done  this  directly  were  too  perilous ; 
and  it  was  accordingly  gone  upon  by  such  a  labyrinth  of 
rivers,  lakes,  and  portages  as  makes  my  head  giddy  to  remem- 
ber. These  paths  were  in  ordinary  times  entirely  desert ;  but 
the  country  was  now  up,  the  tribes  on  the  war-path,  the  woods 
full  of  Indian  scouts.  Again  and  again  we  came  upon  these 
parties,  when  we  least  expected  them;  and  one  day,  in  par- 
ticular, I  shall  never  forget ;  how,  as  dawn  was  coming  in,  we 
were  suddenly  surrounded  by  five  or  six  of  these  painted 
devils,  uttering  a  very  dreary  sort  of  cry  and  brandishing 
their  hatchets.  It  passed  off  harmlessly  indeed,  as  did  the 
rest  of  our  encounters ;  for  Chew  was  well  known  and  highly 
valued  among  the  different  tribes.  Indeed,  he  was  a  very 
gallant,  respectable  young  man.  But  even  with  the  advan- 
tage of  his  companionship,  you  must  not  think  these  meetings 
were  without  sensible  peril.  To  prove  friendship  on  our  part, 
it  was  needful  to  draw  upon  our  stock  of  rum — indeed,  under 
whatever  disguise,  that  is  the  true  business  of  the  Indian 
trader,  to  keep  a  traveling  public-house  in  the  forest;  and 
when  once  the  braves  had  got  their  bottle  of  scaura  (as  they 
call  this  beastly  liquor)  it  behooved  us  to  set  forth  and  paddle 
for  our  scalps.  Once  they  were  a  little  drunk,  good-by  to  any 
sense  or  decency ;  they  had  but  the  one  thought,  to  get  more 

n 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

scaura;  they  might  easily  take  it  in  their  heads  to  give  u* 
chase;  and  had  we  been  overtaken  I  had  never  written  these 
memoirs. 

We  were  come  to  the  most  critical  portion  of  our  course, 
where  we  might  equally  expect  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
French  or  English,  when  a  terrible  calamity  befell  us.  Chew 
was  taken  suddenly  sick  with  symptoms  like  those  of  poison, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  expired  in  the  bottom  of  the 
canoe.  We  thus  lost  at  once  our  guide,  our  interpreter,  our 
boatman  and  our  passport,  for  he  was  all  these  in  one;  and 
found  ourselves  reduced,  at  a  blow,  to  the  most  desperate  and 
irremediable  distress.  Chew,  who  took  a  great  pride  in  his 
knowledge,  had  indeed  often  lectured  us  on  the  geography ; 
and  Ballantrae,  I  believe,  would  listen.  But  for  my  part  I 
have  always  found  such  information  highly  tedious ;  and  be- 
yond the  fact  that  we  were  now  in  the  country  of  the  Adiron- 
dack Indians,  and  not  so  distant  from  our  destination,  could 
we  but  have  found  the  way,  I  was  entirely  ignorant.  The 
wisdom  of  my  course  was  soon  the  more  apparent ;  for  with 
all  his  pains,  Ballantrae  was  no  further  advanced  than  my- 
self. He  knew  we  must  continue  to  go  up  one  stream ;  then, 
by  way  of  a  portage,  down  another;  and  then  up  a  third. 
But  you  are  to  consider,  in  a  mountain  country,  how  many 
streams  come  rolling  in  from  every  hand.  And  how  is  a 
gentleman,  who  is  a  perfect  stranger  in  that  part  of  the 
world,  to  tell  any  one  of  them  from  any  other?  Nor  was  this 
our  only  trouble.  We  were  great  novices,  besides,  in  handling 
a  canoe;  the  portages  were  almost  beyond  our  strength,  so 
that  I  have  seen  us  sit  down  in  despair  for  half  an  hour  at  a 
time  without  one  word ;  and  the  appearance  of  a  single  Indian, 
since  we  had  now  no  means  of  speaking  to  them,  would  have 
been  in  all  probability  the  means  of  our  destruction.  There 
is  altogether  some  excuse  if  Ballantrae  showed  something  of 
a  glooming  disposition ;  his  habit  of  imputing  blame  to  others, 
quite  as  capable  as  himself,  was  less  tolerable,  and  his  lan- 
guage it  was  not  always  easy  to  accept.  Indeed,  he  had  con- 
tracted on  board  the  pirate  ship  a  manner  of  address  which 
was  in  a  high  degree  unusual  between  gentlemen;  and  now, 

52 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

when  you  might  say  he  was  in  a  fever,  it  increased  upon  him 
hugely. 

The  third  day  of  these  wanderings,  as  we  were  carrying 
the  canoe  upon  a  rocky  portage,  she  fell  and  was  entirely 
bilged.  The  portage  was  between  two  lakes,  both  pretty 
extensive ;  the  track,  such  as  it  was,  opened  at  both  ends  upon 
the  water,  and  on  both  hands  was  inclosed  by  the  unbroken 
woods ;  and  the  sides  of  the  lakes  were  quite  impassable  with 
bog;  so  that  we  beheld  ourselves  not  only  condemned  to  go 
without  our  boat  and  the  greater  part  of  our  provisions,  but 
to  plunge  at  once  into  impenetrable  thickets  and  to  desert 
what  little  guidance  we  still  had — the  course  of  the  river. 
Each  stuck  his  pistols  in  his  belt,  shouldered  an  ax,  made  a 
pack  of  his  treasure  and  as  much  food  as  he  could  stagger 
under,  and  deserting  the  rest  of  our  possessions,  even  to  our 
swords,  which  would  have  much  embarrassed  us  among  the 
woods,  we  set  forth  on  this  deplorable  adventure.  The  labors 
of  Hercules,  so  finely  described  by  Homer,  were  a  trifle  to 
what  we  now  underwent.  Some  parts  of  the  forest  were  per- 
fectly dense  down  to  the  ground,  so  that  we  must  cut  our  way 
like  mites  in  a  cheese.  In  some  the  bottom  was  full  of  deep 
swamp,  and  the  whole  wood  entirely  rotten.  I  have  leaped 
on  a  great  fallen  log  and  sunk  to  the  knees  in  touchwood;  I 
have  sought  to  stay  myself,  in  falling,  against  what  looked 
to  be  a  solid  trunk,  and  the  whole  thing  has  whiffed  away  at 
my  touch  like  a  sheet  of  paper.  Stumbling,  falling,  bogging 
to  the  knees,  hewing  our  way,  our  eyes  almost  put  out  with 
twigs  and  branches,  our  clothes  plucked  from  our  bodies,  we 
labored  all  day,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  we  made  two  miles. 
What  was  worse,  as  we  could  rarely  get  a  view  of  the  country 
and  were  perpetually  justled  from  our  path  by  obstacles,  it 
was  impossible  even  to  have  a  guess  in  what  direction  we  were 
moving. 

A  little  before  sundown,  in  an  open  place  with  a  stream  and 
set  about  with  barbarous  mountains,  Ballantrae  threw  down 
his  pack.  *'  I  will  go  no  further,"  said  he,  and  bade  me  light 
the  fire,  damning  my  blood  in  terms  not  proper  for  a 
chairman. 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

I  told  him  to  try  to  forget  he  had  ever  been  a  pirate,  and 
to  remember  he  had  been  a  gentleman. 

"  Are  you  mad?  "  he  cried.  "  Don't  cross  me  here !  "  And 
then,  shaking  his  fist  at  the  hills,  "  To  think,"  cries  he,  "  that 
I  must  leave  my  bones  in  this  miserable  wilderness!  Would 
God  I  had  died  upon  the  scaffold  like  a  gentleman !  "  This  he 
said  ranting  like  an  actor ;  and  then  sat  biting  his  fingers  and 
staring  on  the  ground,  a  most  unchristian  object. 

I  took  a  certain  horror  of  the  man,  for  I  thought  a  soldier 
and  a  gentleman  should  confront  his  end  with  more  philos- 
ophy. I  made  him  no  reply,  therefore,  in  words;  and  pres- 
ently the  evening  fell  so  chill  that  I  was  glad,  for  my  own 
sake,  to  kindle  a  fire.  And  yet  God  knows,  in  such  an  open 
spot,  and  the  country  alive  with  savages,  the  act  was  little 
short  of  lunacy.  Ballantrae  seemed  never  to  observe  me,  but 
at  last,  as  I  was  about  parching  a  little  corn,  he  looked  up. 

"  Have  you  ever  a  brother  ?  "  said  he. 

"  By  the  blessing  of  Heaven,"  said  I,  "  not  less  than  five.'* 

"  I  have  the  one,"  said  he,  with  a  strange  voice ;  and  then 
presently,  "  He  shall  pay  me  for  all  this,"  he  added.  And 
when  I  asked  him  what  was  his  brother's  part  in  our  distress, 
"  What !  "  he  cried,  "  he  sits  in  my  place,  he  bears  my  name, 
he  courts  my  wife ;  and  I  am  here  alone  with  a  damned  Irish- 
man in  this  tooth-chattering  desert !  Oh,  I  have  been  a  com- 
mon gull !  "  he  cried. 

The  explosion  was  in  all  ways  so  foreign  to  my  friend's 
nature  that  I  was  daunted  out  of  all  my  just  susceptibility. 
Sure,  an  offensive  expression,  however  vivacious,  appears  a 
wonderfully  small  affair  in  circumstances  so  extreme!  But 
here  there  is  a  strange  thing  to  be  noted.  He  had  only  once 
before  referred  to  the  lady  with  whom  he  was  contracted. 
That  was  when  he  came  in  view  of  the  town  of  New  York, 
when  he  had  told  me,  if  all  had  their  rights,  he  was  now  in 
sight  of  his  own  property,  for  Miss  Graeme  enjoyed  a  large 
estate  in  the  province.  And  this  was  certainly  a  natural 
occasion ;  but  now  here  she  was  named  a  second  time ;  and 
what  is  surely  fit  to  be  observed,  in  this  very  month,  which 
was  November,  '47,  and  /  believe  upon  that  very  day,  as  we 

54 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

sat  among  those  barbarous  mountains,  his  brother  and  Miss 
Graeme  were  married.  I  am  the  least  superstitious  of  men; 
but  the  hand  of  Providence  is  here  displayed  too  openly  not 
to  be  remarked.* 

The  next  day,  and  the  next,  were  passed  in  similar  labors ; 
Ballantrae  often  deciding  on  our  course  by  the  spinning  of  a 
coin ;  and  once,  when  I  expostulated  on  this  childishness,  he 
had  an  odd  remark  that  I  have  never  forgotten.  "  I  know 
no  better  way,"  said  he,  "  to  express  my  scorn  of  human 
reason."  I  think  it  was  the  third  day  that  we  found  the  body 
of  a  Christian,  scalped  and  most  abominably  mangled,  and 
lying  in  a  pudder  of  his  blood,  the  birds  of  the  desert  scream- 
ing over  him,  as  thick  as  flies.  I  cannot  describe  how  dread- 
fully this  sight  affected  us ;  but  it  robbed  me  of  all  strength 
and  all  hope  for  this  world.  The  same  day,  and  only  a  little 
after,  we  were  scrambling  over  a  part  of  the  forest  that  had 
been  burned,  when  Ballantrae,  who  was  a  little  ahead,  ducked 
suddenly  behind  a  fallen  trunk.  I  joined  him  in  this  shelter, 
whence  we  could  look  abroad  without  being  seen  ourselves ; 
and  in  the  bottom  of  the  next  vale  beheld  a  large  war  party 
of  the  savages  going  by  across  our  line.  There  might  be  the 
value  of  a  weak  battalion  present;  all  naked  to  the  waist, 
blacked  with  grease  and  suet,  and  painted  wi.  t  white  lead  and 
vermilion,  according  to  their  beastly  habits.  They  went  one 
behind  another  like  a  string  of  geese,  and  at  a  quickish  trot ; 
so  that  they  took  but  a  little  while  to  rattle  by  and  disappear 
again  among  the  woods.  Yet  I  suppose  we  endured  a  greater 
agony  of  hesitation  and  suspense  in  these  few  minutes  than 
goes  usually  to  a  man's  whole  life.  Whether  they  were 
French  or  English  Indians,  whether  they  desired  scalps  or 
prisoners,  whether  we  should  declare  ourselves  upon  the 
chance  or  lie  quiet  and  continue  the  heart-breaking  business 
of  our  journey:  sure,  I  think,  these  were  questions  to  have 
puzzled  the  brains  of  Aristotle  himself.  Ballantrae  turned  to 
me  with  a  face  all  wrinkled  up  and  his  teeth  showing  in  his 
mouth,  like  that  I  have  read  of  people  starving;  he  said  no 

*  Note  by  Mr.  Mackellar. — A  complete  blunder:  there  was  at  this 
date  no  word  of  the  marriage:  see  above  in  my  own  narration. 

65 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

word,  but  his  whole  appearance  was  a  kind  of  dreadful 
question. 

"  They  may  be  of  the  English  side,"  I  whispered ;  "  and 
think!  the  best  we  could  then  hope,  is  to  begin  this  over 
again." 

"I  know,  I  know,"  he  said.  "Yet  it  must  come  to  a 
plunge  at  last."  And  he  suddenly  plucked  out  his  coin,  shook 
it  in  his  closed  hands,  looked  at  it,  and  then  lay  down  with  his 
face  in  the  dust. 

Addition  by  Mr.  Macleellar. — I  drop  the  chevalier's  narra- 
tion at  this  point  because  the  couple  quarreled  and  separated 
the  same  day ;  and  the  chevalier's  account  of  the  quarrel  seems 
to  me  (I  must  confess)  quite  incompatible  with  the  nature  of 
either  of  the  men.  Henceforth,  they  wandered  alone,  under- 
going extraordinary  sufferings;  until  first  one  and  then  the 
other  was  picked  up  by  a  party  from  Fort  St.  Frederick. 
Only  two  things  are  to  be  noted.  And  first  (as  most  impor- 
tant for  my  purpose)  that  the  master  in  the  course  of  his 
miseries  buried  his  treasure,  at  a  point  never  since  discovered, 
but  of  which  he  took  a  drawing  in  his  own  blood  on  the  lining 
of  his  hat.  And  second,  that  on  his  coming  thus  penniless 
to  the  fort,  he  was  welcomed  like  a  brother  by  the  chevalier, 
who  thence  paid  his  way  to  France.  The  simplicity  of  Mr. 
Burke's  character  leads  him  at  this  point  to  praise  the  master 
exceedingly;  to  an  eye  more  worldly  wise,  it  would  seem  it 
was  the  chevalier  alone  that  was  to  be  commended.  I  have 
the  more  pleasure  in  pointing  to  this  really  very  noble  trait 
of  my  esteemed  correspondent,  as  I  fear  I  may  have  wounded 
him  immediately  before.  I  have  refrained  from  comments  on 
any  of  his  extraordinary  and  (in  my  eyes)  immoral  opinions, 
for  I  know  him  to  be  jealous  of  respect.  But  his  version  of 
the  quarrel  is  really  more  than  I  can  reproduce ;  for  I  knew 
the  master  myself,  and  a  man  more  insusceptible  of  fear  is  not 
conceivable.  I  regret  this  oversight  of  the  chevalier's,  and 
all  the  more  because  the  tenor  of  his  narrative  (set  aside  a  few 
flourishes)  strikes  me  as  highly  ingenuous. 

56 


PERSECUTIONS  ENDURED  BY  MR.  HENRY 

YOU  can  guess  on  what  part  of  his  adventures  the  colonel 
principally  dwelt.  Indeed,  if  we  had  heard  it  all,  it  is 
to  be  thought  the  current  of  this  business  had  been  wholly 
altered;  but  the  pirate  ship  was  very  gently  touched  upon. 
Nor  did  I  hear  the  colonel  to  an  end  even  of  that  which  he 
was  willing  to  disclose;  for  Mr.  Henry,  having  for  some 
while  been  plunged  in  a  brown  study,  rose  at  last  from  his 
seat  and  (reminding  the  colonel  there  were  matters  that  he 
must  attend  to)  bade  me  follow  him  immediately  to  the  office. 

Once  there,  he  sought  no  longer  to  dissemble  his  concern, 
walking  to  and  fro  in  the  room  with  a  contorted  face,  and 
passing  his  hand  repeatedly  upon  his  brow. 

"  We  have  some  business,"  he  began  at  last ;  and  there 
broke  off,  declared  we  must  have  wine,  and  sent  for  a  magnum 
of  the  best.  This  was  extremely  foreign  to  his  habitudes; 
and  what  was  still  more  so,  when  the  wine  had  come  he  gulped 
down  one  glass  upon  another  like  a  man  careless  of  appear- 
ances. But  the  drink  steadied  him. 

"  You  will  scarce  be  surprised,  Mackellar,"  says  he,  "  when 
I  tell  you  that  my  brother  (whose  safety  we  are  all  rejoiced 
to  learn)  stands  in  some  need  of  money." 

I  told  him  I  had  misdoubted  as  much ;  but  the  time  was  not 
very  fortunate  as  the  stock  was  low. 

"  Not  mine,"  said  he.  "  There  is  the  money  for  the 
mortgage." 

I  reminded  him  it  was  Mrs.  Henry's. 

"  I  will  be  answerable  to  my  wife,"  he  cried  violently. 

"  And  then,"  said  I,  "  there  is  the  mortgage." 

"  I  know,"  said  he,  "  it  is  on  that  I  would  consult  you." 

I  showed  him  how  unfortunate  a  time  it  was  to  divert  this 
money  from  its  destination ;  and  how  by  so  doing  we  must 
lose  the  profit  of  our  past  economies,  and  plunge  back  the 
estate  into  the  mire.  I  even  took  the  liberty  to  plead  with 

57 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

him ;  and  when  he  still  opposed  me  with  a  shake  of  the  head 
and  a  bitter,  dogged  smile,  my  zeal  quite  carried  me  beyond 
my  place.  "  This  is  midsummer  madness,"  cried  I ;  "  and  I 
for  one  will  be  no  party  to  it." 

"  You  speak  as  though  I  did  it  for  my  pleasure,"  says  he. 
"  But  I  have  a  child  now ;  and  besides  I  love  order ;  and  to  say 
the  honest  truth,  Mackellar,  I  had  begun  to  take  a  pride  in 
the  estates."  He  gloomed  for  a  moment.  "  But  what  would 
you  have?  "  he  went  on.  "  Nothing  is  mine,  nothing.  This 
day's  news  has  knocked  the  bottom  out  of  my  life.  I  have 
only  the  name  and  the  shadow  of  things;  only  the  shadow; 
there  is  no  substance  in  my  rights." 

"  They  will  prove  substantial  enough  before  a  court," 
said  I. 

He  looked  at  me  with  a  burning  eye,  and  seemed  to  repress 
the  word  upon  his  lips ;  and  I  repented  what  I  had  said,  for  I 
saw  that  while  he  spoke  of  the  estate  he  had  still  a  side- 
thought  to  his  marriage.  And  then,  of  a  sudden,  he  twitched 
the  letter  from  his  pocket,  where  it  lay  all  crumpled,  smoothed 
it  violently  on  the  table,  and  read  these  words  to  me  with  a 
trembling  tongue.  "  '  My  dear  Jacob  ' — this  is  how  he  be- 
gins ! "  cries  he — "  '  My  dear  Jacob,  I  once  called  you  so, 
you  may  remember ;  and  you  have  now  done  the  business,  and 
flung  my  heels  as  high  as  Criffel.'  What  do  you  think  of 
that,  Mackellar,"  says  he,  "  from  an  only  brother?  I  declare 
to  God  I  liked  him  very  well;  I  was  always  stanch  to  him; 
and  this  is  how  he  writes !  But  I  will  not  sit  down  under  the 
imputation  " — (walking  to  and  fro) — "  I  am  as  good  as  he, 
I  am  a  better  man  than  he,  I  call  on  God  to  prove  it !  I  can- 
not give  him  all  the  monstrous  sum  he  asks ;  he  knows  the 
estate  to  be  incompetent ;  but  I  will  give  him  what  I  have,  and 
it  is  more  than  he  expects.  I  have  borne  all  this  too  long. 
See  what  he  writes  further  on ;  read  it  for  yourself:  '  I  know 
you  are  a  niggardly  dog.'  A  niggardly  dog!  I,  niggardly? 
Is  that  true,  Mackellar?  You  think  it  is?  "  I  really  thought 
he  would  have  struck  me  at  that.  "  Oh,  you  all  think  so ! 
Well,  you  shall  see,  and  he  shall  see,  and  God  shall  see.  If  I 
ruin  the  estate  and  go  barefoot,  I  shall  stun0  this  bloodsucker. 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

Let  him  ask  all — all,  and  he  shall  have  it!  It  is  all  his  by 
rights.  Ah !  "  he  cried,  "  and  I  foresaw  all  this  and  worse, 
when  he  would  not  let  me  go."  He  poured  out  another  glass 
of  wine  and  was  about  to  carry  it  to  his  lips,  when  I  made 
so  bold  as  lay  a  finger  on  his  arm.  He  stopped  a  moment. 
"  You  are  right,"  said  he,  and  flung  glass  and  all  in  the  fire- 
place. "  Come,  let  us  count  the  money." 

I  durst  no  longer  oppose  him;  indeed,  I  was  very  much 
affected  by  the  sight  of  so  much  disorder  in  a  man  usually  so 
controlled;  and  we  sat  down  together,  counted  the  money, 
and  made  it  up  in  packets  for  the  greater  ease  of  Colonel 
Burke,  who  was  to  be  the  bearer.  This  done,  Mr.  Henry 
returned  to  the  hall,  where  he  and  my  old  lord  sat  all  night 
through  with  their  guest. 

A  little  before  dawn  I  was  called  and  set  out  with  the 
colonel.  He  would  scarce  have  liked  a  less  responsible  con- 
voy, for  he  was  a  man  who  valued  himself;  nor  could  we 
afford  him  one  more  dignified,  for  Mr.  Henry  must  not  ap- 
pear with  the  free-traders.  It  was  a  very  bitter  morning 
of  wind,  and  as  we  went  down  through  the  long  shrubbery  the 
colonel  held  himself  muffled  in  his  cloak. 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  this  is  a  great  sum  of  money  that  your 
friend  requires.  I  must  suppose  his  necessities  to  be  very 
great." 

"  We  must  suppose  so,"  says  he,  I  thought  dryly,  but  per- 
haps it  was  the  cloak  about  his  mouth. 

"  I  am  only  a  servant  of  the  family,"  said  I.  "  You  may 
deal  openly  with  me,  I  think  we  are  likely  to  get  little  good 
by  him?" 

"  My  dear  man,"  said  the  colonel,  "  Ballantrae  is  a  gentle- 
man of  the  most  eminent  natural  abilities,  and  a  man  that  I 
admire  and  that  I  revere,  to  the  very  ground  he  treads  on." 
And  then  he  seemed  to  me  to  pause  like  one  in  a  difficulty. 

"  But  for  all  that,"  said  I,  "  we  are  likely  to  get  little  good 
by  him?" 

"  Sure,  and  you  can  have  it  your  own  way,  my  dear  man," 
says  the  colonel. 

By  this  time  we  had  come  to  the  side  of  the  creek,  where 

59 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLA1STTRAE 

the  boat  awaited  him.  "  Well,"  said  he,  '*  I  am  sure  I  am  very 
much  your  debtor  for  all  your  civility,  Mr.  Whatever-your- 
name-is ;  and  just  as  a  last  word,  and  since  you  show  so  much 
intelligent  interest,  I  will  mention  a  small  circumstance  that 
may  be  of  use  to  the  family.  For  I  believe  my  friend  omitted 
to  mention  that  he  has  the  largest  pension  on  the  Scots  Fund 
of  any  refugee  in  Paris ;  and  it's  the  more  disgraceful,  sir," 
cries  the  colonel,  warming,  "  because  there's  not  one  dirty 
penny  for  myself." 

He  cocked  his  hat  at  me,  as  if  I  had  been  to  blame  for  this 
partiality ;  then  changed  again  into  his  usual  swaggering 
civility,  shook  me  by  the  hand,  and  set  off  down  to  the  boat, 
with  the  money  under  his  arms,  and  whistling  as  he  went  the 
pathetic  air  of  "  Shule  Aroon."  It  was  the  first  time  I  had 
heard  that  tune ;  I  was  to  hear  it  again,  words  and  all,  as  you 
shall  learn ;  but  I  remember  how  that  little  stave  of  it  ran  in 
my  head,  after  the  free-traders  had  bade  him  "  Wheesht,  in 
the  deil's  name,"  and  the  grating  of  the  oars  had  taken  its 
place,  and  I  stood  and  watched  the  dawn  creeping  on  the 
sea,  and  the  boat  drawing  away,  and  the  lugger  lying  with 
her  foresail  backed  awaiting  it. 

The  gap  made  in  our  money  was  a  sore  embarrassment; 
and  among  other  consequences,  it  had  this :  that  I  must  ride 
to  Edinburgh,  and  there  raise  a  new  loan  on  very  question' 
able  terms  to  keep  the  old  afloat ;  and  was  thus,  for  close  upon 
three  weeks,  absent  from  the  house  of  Durrisdeer. 

What  passed  in  the  interval,  I  had  none  to  tell  me;  but  I 
found  Mrs.  Henry,  upon  my  return,  much  changed  in  her 
demeanor ;  the  old  talks  with  my  lord  for  the  most  part  pre- 
termitted;  a  certain  deprecation  visible  toward  her  husband, 
to  whom  I  thought  she  addressed  herself  more  often  ;  and  for 
one  thing,  she  was  now  greatly  wrapped  up  in  Miss  Katha- 
rine. You  would  think  the  change  was  agreeable  to  Mr. 
Henry!  no  such  matter!  To  the  contrary,  every  circum- 
stance of  alteration  was  a  stab  to  him;  he  read  in  each  the 
avowal  of  her  truant  fancies:  that  constancy  to  the  master 
of  which  she  was  proud  while  she  supposed  him  dead,  she  had 
to  blush  for  now  she  knew  he  was  alive :  and  these  blushes  were 

60 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

the  hated  spring  of  her  new  conduct.  I  am  to  conceal  no 
truth ;  and  I  will  here  say  plainly,  I  think  this  was  the  period 
in  which  Mr.  Henry  showed  the  worst.  He  contained  himself, 
indeed,  in  public ;  but  there  was  a  deep-seated  irritation  visible 
underneath.  With  me,  from  whom  he  had  less  concealment, 
he  was  often  grossly  unjust;  and  even  for  his  wife  he  would 
sometimes  have  a  sharp  retort:  perhaps  when  she  had  ruffled 
him  with  some  unwonted  kindness ;  perhaps  upon  no  tangible 
occasion,  the  mere  habitual  tenor  of  the  man's  annoyance 
bursting  spontaneously  forth.  When  he  would  thus  forget 
himself  (a  thing  so  strangely  out  of  keeping  with  the  terms 
of  their  relation),  there  went  a  shock  through  the  whole 
company ;  and  the  pair  would  look  upon  each  other  in  a  kind 
of  pained  amazement. 

All  the  time  too,  while  he  was  injuring  himself  by  this 
defect  of  temper,  he  was  hurting  his  position  by  a  silence,  of 
which  I  scarce  know  whether  to  say  it  was  the  child  of  gen- 
erosity or  pride.  The  free-traders  came  again  and  again, 
bringing  messengers  from  the  Master,  and  none  departed 
empty-handed.  I  never  durst  reason  with  Mr.  Henry;  he 
gave  what  was  asked  of  him  in  a  kind  of  noble  rage.  Per- 
haps because  he  knew  he  was  by  nature  inclining  to  the 
parsimonious,  he  took  a  back-foremost  pleasure  in  the  reck- 
lessness with  which  he  supplied  his  brother's  exigence.  Per- 
haps the  falsity  of  the  position  would  have  spurred  an 
humbler  man  into  the  same  excesses.  But  the  estate  (if  I  may 
say  so)  groaned  under  it;  our  daily  expenses  where  shown 
lower  and  lower;  the  stables  were  emptied,  all  but  four 
roadsters ;  servants  were  discharged,  which  raised  a  dreadful 
murmuring  in  the  country  and  heated  up  the  old  disfavor 
upon  Mr.  Henry ;  and  at  last  the  yearly  visit  to  Edinburgh 
must  be  discontinued. 

This  was  in  1756.  You  are  to  suppose  that  for  seven  years 
this  bloodsucker  had  been  drawing  the  life's  blood  from  Dur- 
risdeer ;  and  that  all  this  time  my  patron  had  held  his  peace. 
It  was  an  effect  of  devilish  malice  in  the  master,  that  he  ad- 
dressed Mr.  Henry  alone  upon  the  matter  of  his  demands, 
and  there  was  never  a  word  to  my  lord.  The  family  had 

61 


THE   MASTER   OF  BALLANTRAE 

looked  on  wondering  at  our  economies.  They  had  lamented, 
I  have  no  doubt,  that  my  patron  had  become  so  great  a  miser ; 
a  fault  always  despicable,  but  in  the  young  abhorrent ;  and 
Mr.  Henry  was  not  yet  thirty  years  of  age.  Still  he  had 
managed  the  business  of  Durrisdeer  almost  from  a  boy;  and 
they  bore  with  these  changes  in  a  silence  as  proud  and  bitter 
as  his  own,  until  the  coping  stone  of  the  Edinburgh  visit. 

At  this  time,  I  believe  my  patron  and  his  wife  were  rarely 
together  save  at  meals.  Immediately  on  the  back  of  Colonel 
Burke's  announcement,  Mrs.  Henry  made  palpable  advances ; 
you  might  say  she  had  laid  a  sort  of  timid  court  to  her  hus- 
band, different  indeed  from  her  former  manner  of  unconcern 
and  distance.  I  never  had  the  heart  to  blame  Mr.  Henry 
because  he  recoiled  from  these  advances ;  nor  yet  to  censure 
the  wife,  when  she  was  cut  to  the  quick  by  their  rejection. 
But  the  result  was  an  entire  estrangement,  so  that  (as  I  say) 
they  rarely  spoke  except  at  meals.  Even  the  matter  of  the 
Edinburgh  visit  was  first  broached  at  table ;  and  it  chanced 
that  Mrs.  Henry  was  that  day  ailing  and  querulous.  She 
had  no  sooner  understood  her  husband's  meaning  than  the 
red  flew  in  her  face. 

"  At  last,"  she  cried,  "  this  is  too  much !  Heaven  knows 
what  pleasure  I  have  in  my  life,  that  I  should  be  denied  my 
only  consolation.  These  shameful  proclivities  must  be  trod 
down !  we  are  already  a  mark  and  an  eye-sore  in  the  neighbor- 
hood ;  I  will  not  endure  this  fresh  insanity." 

"  I  cannot  afford  it,"  says  Mr.  Henry. 

"  Afford  ?  "  she  cried.  "  For  shame !  But  I  have  money 
of  my  own." 

"  That  is  all  mine,  madam,  by  marriage,"  he  snarled,  and 
instantly  left  the  room. 

My  old  lord  threw  up  his  hands  to  heaven  and  he  and  his 
daughter,  withdrawing  to  the  chimney,  gave  me  a  broad  hint 
to  be  gone.  I  found  Mr.  Henry  in  his  usual  retreat,  the 
steward's  room,  perched  on  the  end  of  the  table  and  plunging 
his  penknife  in  it,  with  a  very  ugly  countenance. 

"  Mr.  Henry,"  said  I,  "  you  do  yourself  too  much  injus- 
tice ;  and  it  is  time  this  should  cease." 

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THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Oh !  "  cries  he,  "  nobody  minds  here.  They  think  it  only 
natural.  I  have  shameful  proclivities.  I  am  a  niggardly 
dog,"  and  he  drove  his  knife  up  to  the  hilt.  "  But  I  will  show 
that  fellow,"  he  cried,  with  an  oath,  "  I  will  show  him  which 
is  the  more  generous." 

"  This  is  no  generosity,"  said  I,  "  this  is  only  pride." 

"  Do  you  think  I  want  morality  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  thought  he  wanted  help,  and  I  should  give  it  him, 
willingly ;  and  no  sooner  was  Mrs.  Henry  gone  to  her 
room  than  I  presented  myself  at  her  door  and  sought  ad- 
mittance. 

She  openly  showed  her  wonder.  "  What  do  you  want  with 
me,  Mr.  Mackellar?  "  said  she. 

"  The  Lord  knows,  madam,"  says  I,  "  I  have  never  troubled 
you  before  with  any  freedoms,  but  this  thing  lies  too  hard 
upon  my  conscience,  and  it  will  out.  Is  it  possible  that  two 
people  can  be  so  blind  as  you  and  my  lord?  and  have  lived  all 
these  years  with  a  noble  gentleman  like  Mr.  Henry,  and  un- 
derstand so  little  of  his  nature?  " 

"What  does  this  mean?  "  she  cried. 

"  Do  you  not  know  where  his  money  goes  to  ?  his — and 
yours — and  the  money  for  the  very  wine  he  does  not  drink 
at  table?"  I  went  on.  "To  Paris — to  that  man!  Eight 
thousand  pounds  has  he  had  of  us  in  seven  years,  and  my 
patron  fool  enough  to  keep  it  secret ! " 

"  Eight  thousand  pounds !  "  she  repeated.  "  It  is  impossi- 
ble, the  estate  is  not  sufficient." 

"  God  knows  how  we  have  sweated  farthings  to  produce  it," 
said  I.  "  But  eight  thousand  and  sixty  is  the  sum,  beside  odd 
shillings.  And  if  you  can  think  my  patron  miserly  after  that, 
this  shall  be  my  last  interference." 

"  You  need  say  no  more,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  said  she.  "  You 
have  done  most  properly  in  what  you  too  modestly  call  your 
interference.  I  am  much  to  blame ;  you  must  think  me  indeed 
a  very  unobservant  wife  " — (looking  upon  me  with  a  strange 
smile) — "  but  I  shall  put  this  right  at  once.  The  Master  was 
always  of  a  very  thoughtless  nature;  but  his  heart  is  excel- 
lent ;  he  is  the  soul  of  generosity.  I  shall  write  to  him  myself. 

68 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

You  cannot  think  how  you  have  pained  me  by  this  corn- 
munication." 

"  Indeed,  madam,  I  had  hoped  to  have  pleased  you,"  said  I, 
for  I  raged  to  see  her  still  thinking  of  the  master. 

"  And  pleased,"  said  she,  "  and  pleased  me,  of  course." 

That  same  day  (I  will  not  say  but  what  I  watched)  I  had 
the  satisfaction  to  see  Mr.  Henry  come  from  his  wife's  room 
in  a  state  most  unlike  himself;  for  his  face  was  all  bloated 
with  weeping,  and  yet  he  seemed  to  me  to  walk  upon  the  air. 
By  this,  I  was  sure  his  wife  had  made  him  full  amends  for 
once.  "  Ah,"  thought  I,  to  myself,  "  I  have  done  a  brave 
stroke  this  day." 

On  the  morrow,  as  I  was  seated  at  my  books,  Mr.  Henry 
came  in  softly  behind  me,  took  me  by  the  shoulders  and  shook 
me  in  a  manner  of  playfulness.  "  I  find  you  are  a  faithless 
fellow  after  all,"  says  he ;  which  was  his  only  reference  to  my 
part,  but  the  tone  he  spoke  in  was  more  to  me  than  any 
eloquence  of  protestation.  Nor  was  this  all  I  had  effected; 
for  when  the  next  messenger  came  (as  he  did  not  long  after- 
ward) from  the  Master,  he  got  nothing  away  with  him  but  a 
letter.  For  some  while  back  it  had  been  I  myself  who  had 
conducted  these  affairs ;  Mr.  Henry  not  setting  pen  to  paper, 
and  I  only  in  the  dryest  and  most  formal  terms.  But  this 
letter  I  did  not  even  see ;  it  would  scarce  be  pleasant  reading, 
for  Mr.  Henry  felt  he  had  his  wife  behind  him  for  once,  and 
I  observed,  on  the  day  it  was  dispatched,  he  had  a  very 
gratified  expression. 

Things  went  better  now  in  the  family,  though  it  could 
scarce  be  pretended  they  went  well.  There  was  now  at  least 
no  misconception ;  there  was  kindness  upon  all  sides ;.  and  I 
believe  my  patron  and  his  wife  might  again  have  drawn 
together,  if  he  could  but  have  pocketed  his  pride,  and  she 
forgot  (what  was  the  ground  of  all)  her  brooding  on  another 
man.  It  is  wonderful  how  a  private  thought  leaks  out ;  it  is 
wonderful  to  me  now,  how  we  should  all  have  followed  the 
current  of  her  sentiments ;  and  though  she  bore  herself 
quietly,  and  had  a  very  even  disposition,  yet  we  should  have 
known  whenever  her  fancy  ran  to  Paris.  And  would  not  any 

64 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

one  have  thought  that  my  disclosure  must  have  rooted  up  that 
idol?  I  think  there  is  the  devil  in  women:  all  these  years 
passed,  never  a  sight  of  the  man,  little  enough  kindness  to 
remember  (by  all  accounts)  even  while  she  had  him,  the 
notion  of  his  death  intervening,  his  heartless  rapacity  laid 
bare  to  her:  that  all  should  not  do,  and  she  must  still  keep 
the  best  place  in  her  heart  for  this  accursed  fellow,  is  a  thing 
to  make  a  plain  man  rage.  I  had  never  much  natural  sym- 
pathy for  the  passion  of  love;  but  this  unreason  in  my 
patron's  wife  disgusted  me  outright  with  the  whole  matter. 
I  remember  checking  a  maid,  because  she  sung  some  bairnly 
kickshaw  while  my  mind  was  thus  engaged ;  and  my  asperity 
brought  about  my  ears  the  enemity  of  all  the  petticoats  about 
the  house;  of  which  I  recked  very  little,  but  it  amused  Mr. 
Henry,  who  rallied  me  much  upon  our  joint  unpopularity.  It 
is  strange  enough  (for  my  own  mother  was  certainly  one  of 
the  salt  of  the  earth  and  my  aunt  Dickson,  who  paid  my  fees 
at  the  university,  a  very  notable  woman)  but  I  have  never 
had  much  toleration  for  the  female  sex,  possibly  not  much 
understanding;  and  being  far  from  a  bold  man,  I  have  ever 
shunned  their  company.  Not  only  do  I  see  no  cause  to  regret 
this  diffidence  in  myself,  but  have  invariably  remarked  the 
most  unhappy  consequences  follow  those  who  were  less  wise. 
So  much  I  thought  proper  to  set  down,  lest  I  show  myself 
unjust  to  Mrs.  Henry.  And  besides  the  remark  arose  nat- 
urally, on  a  reperusal  of  the  letter  which  was  the  next  step 
in  these  affairs,  and  reached  me  to  my  sincere  astonishment 
by  a  private  hand,  some  week  or  so  after  the  departure  of  the 
last  messenger. 

Letter    from    COLONEL    BURKE    (afterward    ChevaUer)    to 
ME.  MACKELLAE. 

"  TEOYES  IN  CHAMPAGNE, 

"  July  12,  1756. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  You  will  doubtless  be  surprised  to  receive 
a  communication  from  one  so  little  known  to  you;  but  on 
the  occasion  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  rencontre  you  at  Dur- 
risdeer,  I  remarked  you  for  a  young  man  of  a  solid  gravity 

65 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

of  character:  a  qualification  which  I  profess  I  admire  and 
revere  next  to  natural  genius  or  the  bold,  chivalrous  spirit  of 
the  soldier.  I  was  besides  interested  in  the  noble  family  which 
you  have  the  honor  to  serve  or  (to  speak  more  by  the  book) 
to  be  the  humble  and  respected  friend  of ;  and  a  conversation 
I  had  the  pleasure  to  have  with  you  very  early  in  the  morning 
has  remained  much  upon  my  mind. 

"  Being  the  other  day  in  Paris,  on  a  visit  from  this  famous 
city  where  I  am  in  garrison,  I  took  occasion  to  inquire  your 
name  (which  I  profess  I  had  forgot)  at  my  friend,  the 
Master  of  B —  — ;  and  a  fair  opportunity  occurring,  I  write 
to  inform  you  of  what's  new. 

"  The  Master  of  B (when  we  had  last  some  talk  of 

him  together)  was  in  receipt,  as  I  think  I  then  told  you,  of  a 
highly  advantageous  pension  on  the  Scots  Fund.  He  next 
received  a  company,  and  was  soon  after  advanced  to  a  regi- 
ment of  his  own.  My  dear  sir,  I  do  not  offer  to  explain  this 
circumstance;  any  more  than  why  I  myself,  who  have  rid  at 
the  right  hand  of  princes,  should  be  fubbed  off  with  a  pair  of 
colors  and  sent  to  rot  in  a  hole  at  the  bottom  of  the  province. 
Accustomed  as  I  am  to  courts,  I  cannot  but  feel  it  is  no  at- 
mosphere for  a  plain  soldier;  and  I  could  never  hope  to 
advance  by  similar  means,  even  could  I  stoop  to  the  endeavor. 
But  our  friend  has  a  particular  aptitude  to  succeed  by  the 
means  of  ladies ;  and  if  all  be  true  that  I  have  heard,  he  en- 
joyed a  remarkable  protection.  It  is  like  this  turned  against 
him ;  for  when  I  had  the  honor  to  shake  him  by  the  hand,  he 
was  but  newly  released  from  the  Bastille  where  he  had  been 
cast  on  a  sealed  letter ;  and  though  now  released,  has  both 
lost  his  regiment  and  his  pension.  My  dear  sir,  the  loyalty 
of  a  plain  Irishman  will  ultimately  succeed  in  the  place 
of  craft;  as  I  am  sure  a  gentleman  of  your  probity  will 
agree. 

"  Now,  sir,  the  Master  is  a  man  whose  genius  I  admire 
beyond  expression,  and  besides  he  is  my  friend  ;  but  I  thought 
a  little  word  of  this  revolution  in  his  fortunes  would  not  come 
amiss,  for  in  my  opinion  the  man's  desperate.  He  spoke  when 
I  saw  him  of  a  trip  to  India  (whither  I  am  myself  in  some 

66 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

hope  of  accompanying  my  illustrious  countryman,  Mr. 
Lally)  ;  but  for  this  he  would  require  (as  I  understood)  more 
money  than  was  readily  at  his  command.  You  may  have 
heard  a  military  proverb,  that  it  is  a  good  thing  to  make  a 
bridge  of  gold  to  a  flying  enemy?  I  trust  you  will  take  my 
meaning ;  and  I  subscribe  myself,  with  proper  respects  to  my 
Lord  Durrisdeer,  to  his  son,  and  to  the  beauteous  Mrs.  Durie, 

"  My  dear  sir, 
**  Your  obedient  humble  servant, 

"FRANCIS  BURKE." 

This  missive  I  carried  at  once  to  Mr.  Henry ;  and  I  think 
there  was  but  the  one  thought  between  the  two  of  us :  that  it 
had  come  a  week  too  late.  I  made  haste  to  send  an  answer  to 
Colonel  Burlce,  in  which  I  begged  him,  if  he  should  see  the 
Master,  to  assure  him  his  next  messenger  would  be  attended 
to.  But  with  all  my  haste  I  was  not  in  time  to  avert  what 
was  impending;  the  arrow  had  been  drawn,  it  must  now  fly. 
I  could  almost  doubt  the  power  of  Providence  (and  certainly 
His  will)  to  stay  the  issue  of  events;  and  it  is  a  strange 
thought,  how  many  of  us  had  been  storing  up  the  elements 
of  this  catastrophe,  for  how  long  a  time,  and  with  how  blind 
an  ignorance  of  what  we  did. 

From  the  coming  of  the  colonel's  letter,  I  haa  a  spy-glass 
in  my  room,  ^cgan  to  drop  questions  to  the  tenant  folk,  and 
as  there  was  no  great  secrecy  observed  and  the  free-trade 
(in  our  part)  went  by  force  as  much  as  stealth,  I  had  soon 
got  together  a  knowledge  of  the  signals  in  use,  and  knew 
pretty  well  to  an  hour  when  any  messenger  might  be  expected. 
I  say  I  questioned  the  tenants ;  for  with  the  traders  them- 
selves, desperate  blades  that  went  habitually  armed,  I  could 
never  bring  myself  to  meddle  willingly.  Indeed,  by  what 
proved  in  the  sequel  an  unhappy  chance,  I  was  an  object  of 
scorn  to  some  of  these  braggadocios ;  who  had  not  only 
gratified  me  with  a  nickname,  but  catching  me  one  night  upon 
a  by-path  and  being  all  (as  they  would  have  said)  somewhat 
merry,  had  caused  me  to  dance  for  their  diversion.  The 

67 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

method  employed  was  that  of  cruelly  chipping  at  my  toes 
with  naked  cutlasses,  shouting  at  the  same  time  "  Square- 
Toes  " ;  and  though  they  did  me  no  bodily  mischief,  I  was 
none  the  less  deplorably  affectad  and  was  indeed  for  several 
days  confined  to  my  bed:  a  scandal  on  the  state  of  Scotland 
on  which  no  comment  is  required. 

It  happened  on  the  afternoon  of  November  7th,  in  this 
same  unfortunate  year,  that  I  espied  during  my  walk  the 
smoke  of  a  beacon  fire  upon  the  Muckleross.  It  was  drawing 
near  time  for  my  return ;  but  the  uneasiness  upon  my  spirits 
was  that  day  so  great  that  I  must  burst  through  the  thickets 
to  the  edge  of  what  they  call  the  Craig  Head.  The  sun  was 
already  down,  but  there  was  still  a  broad  light  in  the  west, 
which  showed  me  some  of  the  smugglers  treading  out  their 
signal  fire  upon  the  Ross,  and  in  the  bay  the  lugger  lying 
with  her  sails  brailed  up.  She  was  plainly  but  new  come  to 
anchor,  and  yet  the  skiff  was  already  lowered  and  pulling  for 
the  landing-place  at  the  end  of  the  long  shrubbery.  And  this 
I  knew  could  signify  but  one  thing :  the  coming  of  a  messen- 
ger for  Durrisdeer. 

I  laid  aside  the  remainder  of  my  terrors,  clambered  down 
the  brae — a  place  I  had  never  ventured  through  before,  and 
was  hid  among  the  shore-side  thickets  in  time  to  see  the  boat 
touch.  Captain  Crail  himself  was  steering,  a  thing  not 
usual;  by  his  side  there  sat  a  passenger;  and  the  men  gave 
way  with  difficulty,  being  hampered  with  iieai  ^on  half  a 
dozen  portmanteaus,  great  and  small.  But  the  business  of 
landing  was  briskly  carried  through ;  and  presently  the  bag- 
gage was  all  tumbled  on  shore,  the  boat  on  its  return  voyage 
to  the  lugger,  and  the  passenger  standing  alone  upon  the 
point  of  rock,  a  tall,  slender  figure  of  a  gentleman,  habited 
in  black,  with  a  sword  by  his  side  and  a  walking-cane  upon 
his  wrist.  As  he  so  stood,  he  waved  the  cane  to  Captain  Crail 
by  way  of  salutation,  with  something  both  of  grace  and 
mockery  that  wrote  the  gesture  deeply  on  my  mind. 

No  sooner  was  the  boat  away  with  my  sworn  enemies  than 
I  took  a  sort  of  half  courage,  came  forth  to  the  margin  of 
the  thicket,  and  there  halted  again,  my  mind  being  greatly 

68 


pulled  about  between  natural  diffidence  and  a  dark  foreboding 
of  the  truth.  Indeed,  I  might  have  stood  there  swithering 
all  night,  had  not  the  stranger  turned,  spied  me  through  the 
mists,  which  were  beginning  to  fall,  and  waved  and  cried  on 
me  to  draw  near.  I  did  so  with  a  heart  like  lead. 

"  Here,  my  good  man,"  said  he,  in  the  English  accent, 
"  here  are  some  things  for  Durrisdeer." 

I  was  now  near  enough  to  see  him,  a  very  handsome  figure 
and  countenance,  swarthy,  lean,  long,  with  a  quick,  alert, 
black  look,  as  of  one  who  was  a  fighter  and  accustomed  to 
command ;  upon  one  cheek  he  had  a  mole,  not  unbecoming ;  a 
large  diamond  sparkled  on  his  hand ;  his  clothes,  although 
of  the  one  hue,  were  of  a  French  and  foppish  design ;  his  ruf- 
fles, which  he  wore  longer  than  common,  of  exquisite  lace; 
and  I  wondered  the  more  to  see  him  in  such  a  guise,  when  he 
was  but  newly  landed  from  a  dirty  smuggling  lugger.  At 
the  same  time  he  had  a  better  look  at  me,  toised  me  a  second 
time  sharply,  and  then  smiled. 

"  I  wager,  my  friend,"  says  he,  "  that  I  know  both  your 
name'  and  your  nickname.  I  divined  these  very  clothes  upon 
your  hand  of  writing,  Mr.  Mackellar." 

At  these  words  I  fell  to  shaking. 

*'  Oh,"  says  he,  "  you  need  not  be  afraid  of  me.  I  bear  no 
malice  for  your  tedious  letters ;  and  it  is  my  purpose  to  em- 
ploy you  a  good  deal.  You  may  call  me  Mr.  Bally :  it  is  the 
name  I  have  assumed;  or  rather  (since  I  am  addressing  so 
great  a  precisian)  it  is  so  I  have  curtailed  my  own.  Come 
now,  pick  up  that  and  that " — indicating  two  of  the  port- 
manteaus. "  That  will  be  as  much  as  you  are  fit  to  bear,  and 
the  rest  can  very  well  wait.  Come,  lose  no  more  time,  if  you 
please." 

His  tone  was  so  cutting  that  I  managed  to  do  as  he  bade 
by  a  sort  of  instinct,  my  mind  being  all  the  time  quite  lost. 
No  sooner  had  I  picked  up  the  portmanteaus  than  he  turned 
his  back  and  marched  all  through  the  long  shrubbery ;  where 
it  began  already  to  be  dusk,  for  the  wood  is  thick  and  ever 
green.  I  followed  behind,  loaded  almost  to  the  dust,  though 
I  profess  I  was  not  conscious  of  the  burden ;  being  swallowed 

69 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

up  in  the  monstrosity  of  this  return  and  my  mind  flying  like 
a  weaver's  shuttle. 

On  a  sudden  I  set  the  portmanteaus  to  the  ground  and 
halted.  He  turned  and  looked  back  at  me. 

"Well?"  said  he. 

"You  are  the  Master  of  Ballantrae?  " 

"  You  will  do  me  the  justice  to  observe,"  says  he,  "  that  I 
have  made  no  secret  with  the  astute  Mackellar." 

"  And  in  the  name  of  God,"  cries  I,  "  what  brings  you 
here?  Go  back,  while  it  is  yet  time." 

"  I  thank  you,"  said  he.  "  Your  master  has  chosen  this 
way,  and  not  I ;  but  since  he  has  made  the  choice,  he  (and  you 
also)  must  abide  by  the  result.  And  now  pick  up  these  things 
of  mine,  which  you  have  set  down  in  a  very  boggy  place,  and 
attend  to  that  which  I  have  made  your  business." 

But  I  had  no  thought  now  of  obedience;  I  came  straight 
up  to  him.  "  If  nothing  will  move  you  to  go  back,"  said  I ; 
"  though  sure,  under  all  the  circumstances,  any  Christian  or 
even  any  gentleman  would  scruple  to  go  forward " 

"  These  are  gratifying  expressions,"  he  threw  in. 

"  If  nothing  will  move  you  to  go  back,"  I  continued, 
"  there  are  still  some  decencies  to  be  observed.  Wait  here 
with  your  baggage,  and  I  will  go  forward  and  prepare  your 
family.  Your  father  is  an  old  man ;  and  " — I  stumbled — 
"  there  are  decencies  to  be  observed." 

"  Truly,"  said  he,  "  this  Mackellar  improves  upon  ac- 
quaintance. But  look  you  here,  my  man,  and  understand  it 
once  for  all — you  waste  your  breath  upon  me,  and  I  go  my 
own  way  with  inevitable  motion." 

"  Ah !  "  says  I.     "  Is  that  so?    We  shall  see  then !  " 

And  I  turned  and  took  to  my  heels  for  Durrisdeer.  He 
clutched  at  me  and  cried  out  angrily,  and  then  I  believed  I 
heard  him  laugh,  and  then  I  am  certain  he  pursued  me  for  a 
step  or  two,  and  (I  suppose)  desisted.  One  thing  at  least  is 
sure,  that  I  came  but  a  few  minutes  later  to  the  door  of  the 
great  house,  nearly  strangled  for  the  lack  of  breath,  but 
quite  alone.  Straight  up  the  stair  I  ran,  and  burst  into  the 
hall,  and  stopped  before  the  family  without  v'le  power  of 

70 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

speech;  but  I  must  have  carried  my  story  in  my  looks,  for 
they  rose  out  of  their  places  and  stared  on  me  like 
changelings. 

*'  He  has  come,"  I  panted  at  last. 

"He?  "said  Mr.  Henry. 

"  Himself,"  said  I. 

"  My  son  ?  "  cried  my  lord.  "  Imprudent,  imprudent  boy ! 
Oh,  could  he  not  stay  where  he  was  safe?  " 

Never  a  word  said  Mrs.  Henry;  nor  did  I  look  at  her,  I 
scarcely  knew  why. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Henry,  with  a  very  deep  breath,  "  and 
where  is  he?  " 

"  I  left  him  in  the  long  shrubbery,"  said  I. 

"  Take  me  to  him,"  said  he. 

So  we  went  out  together,  he  and  I,  without  another  word 
from  any  one ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  graveled  plot  encoun- 
tered the  master  strolling  up,  whistling  as  he  came  and  beat- 
ing the  air  with  his  cane.  There  was  still  light  enough 
overhead  to  recognize  though  not  to  read  a  countenance. 

"  Ah,  Jacob !  "  says  the  Master.    "  So  here  is  Esau  back." 

"  James,"  says  Mr.  Henry,  "  for  God's  sake,  call  me  by 
my  name.  I  will  not  pretend  that  I  am  glad  to  see  you ;  but 
I  would  fain  make  you  as  welcome  as  I  can  in  the  house  of 
our  fathers." 

"  Or  in  my  house?  or  yours?  "  says  the  master.  "Which 
was  you  about  to  say?  But  this  is  an  old  sore,  and  we  need 
not  rub  it.  If  you  would  not  share  with  me  in  Paris,  I  hope 
you  will  yet  scarce  deny  your  elder  brother  a  corner  of  the 
fire  at  Durrisdeer?  " 

"  That  is  very  idle  speech,"  replied  Mr.  Henry.  "  And 
you  understand  the  power  of  your  position  excellently 
well." 

"  Why,  I  believe  I  do,"  said  the  other,  with  a  little  laugh. 
And  this,  though  they  had  never  touched  hands,  was  (as  we 
may  say)  the  end  of  the  brothers'  meeting;  for  at  this  the 
master  turned  to  me  and  bade  me  fetch  his  baggage. 

I,  on  my  side,  turned  to  Mr.  Henry  for  a  confirmation; 
perhaps  with  some  defiance. 

71 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  As  long  as  the  Master  is  here,  Mr.  Mackellar,  you  will 
very  much  oblige  me  by  regarding  his  wishes  as  you  would 
my  own,"  says  Mr.  Henry.  "  We  are  constantly  troubling 
you ;  will  you  be  so  good  as  send  one  of  the  servants  ?  "  with 
an  accent  on  the  word. 

If  this  speech  were  anything  at  all,  it  was  surely  a  well- 
deserved  reproof  upon  the  stranger ;  and  yet,  so  devilish  was 
his  impudence,  he  twisted  it  the  other  way. 

"  And  shall  we  be  common  enough  to  say  *  Sneck  up  ?  ' ; 
inquires  he  softly,  looking  upon  me  sideways. 

Had  a  kingdom  depended  on  the  act,  I  could  not  have 
trusted  myself  in  words ;  even  to  call  a  servant  was  beyond 
me;  I  had  rather  serve  the  man  myself  than  speak;  and 
I  turned  away  in  silence  and  went  into  the  long  shrub- 
bery, with  a  heart  full  of  anger  and  despair.  It  was  dark 
under  the  trees,  and  I  walked  before  me  and  forgot  what 
business  I  was  come  upon,  till  I  near  broke  my  shin  on  the 
portmanteaus.  Then  it  was  that  I  remarked  a  strange  par- 
ticular; for  whereas  I  had  before  carried  both  and  scarce 
observed  it,  it  was  now  as  much  I  could  do  to  manage  one. 
And  this,  as  it  forced  me  to  make  two  journeys,  kept  me  the 
longer  from  the  hall. 

When  I  got  there  the  business  of  welcome  was  over  long 
ago;  the  company  was  already  at  supper;  and  by  an  over- 
sight that  cut  me  to  the  quick,  my  place  had  been  for- 
gotten. I  had  seen  one  side  of  the  Master's  return ;  now  I 
was  to  see  the  other.  It  was  he  who  first  remarked  my  coming 
in  and  standing  back  (as  I  did)  in  some  annoyance.  He 
jumped  from  his  seat. 

"  And  if  I  have  not  got  the  good  Mackellar's  place !  "  cries 
he.  "  John,  lay  another  for  Mr.  Bally ;  I  protest  he  will 
disturb  no  one,  and  your  table  is  big  enough  for  all." 

I  could  scarce  credit  my  ears,  nor  yet  my  senses,  when  he 
took  me  by  the  shoulders  and  thrust  me  laughing  into  my 
own  place ;  such  an  affectionate  playfulness  was  in  his  voice. 
And  while  John  laid  the  fresh  place  for  him  (a  thing  on 
which  he  still  insisted)  he  went  and  leaned  on  his  father's 
chair  and  looked  down  upon  him,  and  the  old  man  turned 

19. 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

about  and  looked  upward  on  his  son,  with  such  a  pleasant 
mutual  tenderness  that  I  could  have  carried  my  hand  to  my 
head  in  mere  amazement. 

Yet  all  was  of  a  piece.  Never  a  harsh  word  fell  from  him, 
never  a  sneer  showed  upon  his  lip.  He  had  laid  aside  even  his 
cutting  English  accent,  and  spoke  with  the  kindly  Scots 
tongue  that  sets  a  value  on  affectionate  words ;  and  though 
his  manners  had  a  graceful  elegance  mighty  foreign  to  our 
ways  in  Durrisdeer,  it  was  still  a  homely  courtliness,  that  did 
not  shame  but  flattered  us.  All  that  he  did  throughout  the 
meal,  indeed,  drinking  wine  with  me  with  a  notable  respect, 
turning  about  for  a  pleasant  word  with  John,  fondling  his 
father's  hand,  breaking  into  little  merry  tales  of  his  adven- 
tures, calling  up  the  past  with  happy  reference — all  he  did 
was  so  becoming,  and  himself  so  handsome,  that  I  could 
scarce  wonder  if  my  lord  and  Mrs.  Henry  sat  about  the 
board  with  radiant  faces,  or  if  John  waited  behind  with 
dropping  tears. 

As  soon  as  supper  was  over,  Mrs.  Henry  rose  to  withdraw. 

"  This  was  never  your  way,  Alison,"  said  he. 

"  It  is  my  way  now,"  she  replied ;  which  was  notoriously 
false,  "  and  I  will  give  you  a  good-night,  James,  and  a  wel- 
come— from  the  dead,"  said  she,  and  her  voice  drooped  and 
trembled. 

Poor  Mr.  Henry,  who  had  made  rather  a  heavy  figure 

through  the  meal,  was  more  concerned  than  ever ;  pleased  to 

see  his  wife  withdraw,  and  yet  half  displeased,  as  he  thought 

|  upon  the  cause  of  it ;  and  the  next  moment  altogether  dashed 

by  the  fervor  of  her  speech. 

On  my  part,  I  thought  I  was  now  one  too  many ;  and  was 
stealing  after  Mrs.  Henry,  when  the  Master  saw  me. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  says  he,  "  I  take  this  near  on  an 
unfriendliness.  I  cannot  have  you  go ;  this  is  to  make  a 
stranger  of  the  prodigal  son — and  let  me  remind  you  where 
— in  his  own  father's  house!  Come  sit  ye  down,  and  drink 
another  glass  with  Mr.  Bally." 

"  Ay,  ay,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  says  my  lord,  "  we  must  not 
make  a  stranger  either  of  him  or  you.  I  have  been  telling 

78 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

my  son,"  he  added,  his  voice  brightening  as  usual  on  the 
word,  "  how  much  we  valued  all  your  friendly  service." 

So  I  sat  there  silent  till  my  usual  hour;  and  might  have 
been  almost  deceived  in  the  man's  nature,  but  for  one  passage 
in  which  his  perfidy  appeared  too  plain.  Here  was  the 
passage;  of  which,  after  what  he  knows  of  the  brothers' 
meeting,  the  reader  shall  consider  for  himself.  Mr.  Henry 
sitting  somewhat  dully,  in  spite  of  his  best  endeavors  to 
carry  things  before  my  lord,  up  jumps  the  Master,  passes 
about  the  board,  and  claps  his  brother  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Come,  come,  Halrry  lad"  says  he,  with  a  broad  accent 
such  as  they  must  have  used  together  when  they  were  boys, 
"  you  must  not  be  downcast  because  your  brother  has  come 
home.  All's  yours,  that's  sure  enough,  and  little  I  grudge 
it  you.  Neither  must  you  grudge  me  my  place  beside  my 
father's  fire." 

"  And  that  is  too  true,  Henry,"  says  my  old  lord,  with 
a  little  frown,  a  thing  rare  with  him.  "  You  have  been  the 
elder  brother  of  the  parable  in  the  good  sense;  you  must 
be  careful  of  the  other." 

"  I  am  easily  put  in  the  wrong,"  said  Mr.  Henry. 

"  Who  puts  you  in  the  wrong?  "  cried  my  lord,  I  thought 
very  tartly  for  so  mild  a  man.  "  You  have  earned  my  grati- 
tude and  your  brother's  many  thousand  times;  you  may 
count  on  its  endurance,  and  let  that  suffice." 

"Ay,  Harry,  that  you  may,"  said  the  Master;  and  I 
thought  Mr.  Henry  looked  at  him  with  a  kind  of  wildness 
in  his  eye. 

On  all  the  miserable  business  that  now  followed,  I  have 
four  questions  that  I  asked  myself  often  at  the  time  and 
ask  myself  still.  Was  the  man  moved  by  a  particular  senti- 
ment against  Mr.  Henry?  or  by  what  he  thought  to  be 
his  interest?  or  by  a  mere  delight  in  cruelty  such  as  cats 
display  and  theologians  tell  us  of  the  devil?  or  by  what 
he  would  have  called  love?  My  common  opinion  halts  among 
the  three  first;  but  perhaps  there  lay  at  the  spring  of  his 
behavior  an  element  of  all.  As  thus:  Animosity  to  Mr. 

74 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

Henry  would  explain  his  hateful  usage  of  him  when  they 
were  alone;  the  interests  he  came  to  serve  would  explain 
his  very  different  attitude  before  my  lord;  that  and  some 
spice  of  a  design  of  gallantry,  his  care  to  stand  well  with 
Mrs.  Henry ;  and  the  pleasure  of  malice  for  itself,  the  pains 
he  was  continually  at  to  mingle  and  oppose  these  lines  of 
conduct. 

Partly  because  I  was  a  very  open  friend  to  my  patron, 
partly  because  in  my  letters  to  Paris  I  had  often  given 
myself  some  freedom  of  remonstrance,  I  was  included  in  his 
diabolical  amusement.  When  I  was  alone  with  him,  he  pur- 
sued me  with  sneers ;  before  the  family,  he  used  me  with 
the  extreme  of  friendly  condescension.  This  was  not  only 
painful  in  itself,  not  only  did  it  put  me  continually  in  the 
wrong;  but  there  was  in  it  an  element  of  insuk  indescrib- 
able. That  he  should  thus  leave  me  out  in  his  dissimulation, 
as  though  even  my  testimony  were  too  despicable  to  be 
considered,  galled  me  to  the  blood.  But  what  it  was  to  me 
is  not  worth  notice.  I  make  but  memorandum  of  it  here; 
and  chiefly  for  this  reason,  that  it  had  one  good  result,  and 
gave  me  the  quicker  sense  of  Mr.  Henry's  martyrdom. 

It  was  on  him  the  burden  fell.  How  was  he  to  respond  to 
the  public  advances  of  one  who  never  lost  a  chance  of 
gibing  him  in  private?  How  was  he  to  smile  back  on  the 
deceiver  and  the  insulter?  He  was  condemned  to  seem  un- 
gracious. He  was  condemned  to  silence.  Had  he  been  less 
proud,  had  he  spoken,  who  would  have  credited  the  truth? 
The  acted  calumny  had  done  its  work;  my  lord  and  Mrs. 
Henry  were  the  daily  witnesses  of  what  went  on ;  they  could 
have  sworn  in  court  that  the  master  was  a  model  of  long- 
suffering  good-nature  and  Mr.  Henry  a  pattern  of  jealousy 
and  thanklessness.  And  ugly  enough  as  these  must  have 
appeared  in  any  one,  they  seemed  tenfold  uglier  in  Mr. 
Henry;  for  who  could  forget  that  the  master  lay  in  peril 
of  his  life,  and  that  he  had  already  lost  his  mistress,  his  title 
and  his  fortune? 

"  Henry,  will  you  ride  with  me?  "  asks  the  Master  one 
day. 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

And  Mr.  Henry,  who  had  been  goaded  by  the  man  all 
morning,  raps  out :  "  I  will  not." 

"  I  sometimes  wish  you  would  be  kinder,  Henry,"  says 
the  other  wistfully. 

I  give  this  for  a  specimen;  but  scenes  befell  continually. 
Small  wonder  if  Mr.  Henry  was  blamed;  small  wonder  if 
I  fretted  myself  into  something  near  upon  a  bilious  fever; 
nay,  and  at  the  mere  recollection  feel  a  bitterness  in  my 
blood. 

Sure,  never  in  this  world  was  a  more  diabolical  contrivance ; 
so  perfidious,  so  simple,  so  impossible  to  combat.  And  yet 
I  think  again,  and  I  think  always,  Mrs.  Henry  might  have 
read  between  the  lines ;  she  might  have  had  more  knowl- 
edge of  her  husband's  nature ;  after  all  these  years  of  mar- 
riage, she  might  have  commanded  or  captured  his  confidence. 
And  my  old  lord  too,  that  very  watchful  gentleman,  where 
was  all  his  observation?  But  for  one  thing,  the  deceit  was 
practiced  by  a  master  hand,  and  might  have  gulled  an  angel. 
For  another  (in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Henry),  I  have  observed 
there  are  no  persons  so  far  away  as  those  who  are  both 
married  and  estranged,  so  that  they  seem  out  of  ear-shot 
or  to  have  no  common  tongue.  For  a  third  (in  the  case 
of  both  of  these  spectators),  they  were  blinded  by  old,  in- 
grained predilection.  And  for  a  fourth,  the  risk  the  Mas- 
ter was  supposed  to  stand  in  (supposed,  I  say — you  will 
soon  hear  why)  made  it  seem  the  more  ungenerous  to  criti- 
cise; and  keeping  them  in  a  perpetual  tender  solicitude 
about  his  life,  blinded  them  the  more  effectually  to  his 
faults. 

It  was  during  this  time  that  I  perceived  most  clearly 
the  effect  of  manner,  and  was  led  to  lament  most  deeply  the 
plainness  of  my  own.  Mr.  Henry  had  the  essence  of  a 
gentleman ;  when  he  was  moved,  when  there  was  any  call 
of  circumstance,  he  could  play  his  part  with  dignity  and 
spirit;  but  in  the  day's  commerce  (it  is  idle  to  deny  it)  he 
fell  short  of  the  ornamental.  The  master  (on  the  other 
hand)  had  never  a  movement  but  it  commended  him.  So  it 
befell  that  when  the  one  appeared  gracious  and  the  other 

76 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

ungracious,  every  trick  of  their  bodies  seemed  to  call  out 
confirmation.  Nor  that  alone;  but  the  more  deeply  Mr. 
Henry  floundered  in  his  brother's  toils,  the  more  clownish 
he  grew;  and  the  more  the  Master  enjoyed  his  spiteful 
entertainment,  the  more  engagingly,  the  more  smilingly,  he 
went!  So  that  the  plot,  by  its  own  scope  and  progress, 
furthered  and  confirmed  itself. 

It  was  one  of  the  man's  arts  to  use  the  peril  in  which, 
as  I  say,  he  was  supposed  to  stand.  He  spoke  of  it  to  those 
who  loved  him  with  a  gentle  pleasantry,  which  made  it  the 
more  touching.  To  Mr.  Henry,  he  used  it  as  a  cruel  weapon 
of  offense.  I  remember  his  laying  his  finger  on  the  clean 
lozenge  of  the  painted  window,  one  day  when  we  three  were 
alone  together  in  the  hall.  "  Here  went  your  lucky  guinea, 
Jacob,"  said  he.  And  when  Mr.  Henry  only  looked  upon 
him  darkly,  "  Oh,"  he  added,  "  you  need  not  look  such  im- 
potent malice,  my  good  fly.  You  can  be  rid  of  your  spider 
when  you  please.  How  long,  oh,  Lord?  When  are  you 
to  be  wrought  to  the  point  of  a  denunciation,  scrupulous 
brother?  It  is  one  of  my  interests  in  this  dreary  hole.  I 
ever  loved  experiment."  Still  Mr.  Henry  only  stared  upon 
him  with  a  glooming  brow  and  a  changed  color ;  and  at  last 
the  Master  broke  out  in  a  laugh  and  clapped  him  on  the 
shoulder,  calling  him  a  sulky  dog.  At  this  my  patron  leaped 
back  with  a  gesture  I  thought  very  dangerous ;  and  I  must 
suppose  the  Master  thought  so  too;  for  he  looked  the  least 
in  the  world  discountenanced,  and  I  do  not  remember  him 
again  to  have  laid  hands  on  Mr.  Henry. 

But  though  he  had  his  peril  always  on  his  lips  in  the 
one  way  or  the  other,  I  thought  his  conduct  strangely  in- 
cautious, and  began  to  fancy  the  government  (who  had  set 
a  price  upon  his  head)  was  gone  sound  asleep.  I  will  not 
deny  I  was  tempted  with  the  wish  to  denounce  him;  but 
two  thoughts  withheld  me:  one  that  if  he  were  thus  to  end 
his  life  upon  an  honorable  scaffold,  the  man  would  be  canon- 
ized for  good  in  the  minds  of  his  father  and  my  patron's 
wife ;  the  other,  that  if  I  was  any  way  mingled  in  the  mat- 
ter, Mr.  Henry  himself  would  scarce  escape  some  glancings 

77 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

of  suspicion.  And  in  the  meanwhile  our  enemy  went  in  and 
out  more  than  I  could  have  thought  possible,  the  fact  that 
he  was  home  again  was  buzzed  about  all  the  country-side; 
and  yet  he  was  never  stirred.  Of  all  these  so  many  and  so 
different  persons  who  were  acquainted  with  his  presence, 
none  had  the  least  greed  (as  I  used  to  say,  in  my  annoyance) 
or  the  least  loyalty ;  and  the  man  rode  here  and  there — fully 
more  welcome,  considering  the  lees  of  old  unpopularity,  than 
Mr.  Henry — and  considering  the  free-traders,  far  safer  than 
myself. 

Not  but  what  he  had  a  trouble  of  his  own ;  and  this,  as  it 
brought  about  the  gravest  consequences,  I  must  now  relate. 
The  reader  will  scarce  have  forgotten  Jessie  Broun;  her 
way  of  life  was  much  among  the  smuggling  party ;  Captain 
Crail  himself  was  of  her  intimates;  and  she  had  early  word 
of  Mr.  Bally's  presence  at  the  house.  In  my  opinion  she 
had  long  ceased  to  care  two  straws  for  the  Master's  person ; 
but  it  was  become  her  habit  to  connect  herself  continually 
with  the  Master's  name ;  that  was  the  ground  of  all  her  play- 
acting ;  and  so,  now  when  he  was  back,  she  thought  she  owed 
it  to  herself  to  grow  a  haunter  of  the  neighborhood  of 
Durrisdeer.  The  Master  could  scarce  go  abroad  but  she 
was  there  in  wait  for  him ;  a  scandalous  figure  of  a  woman, 
not  often  sober ;  hailing  him  wildly  as  "  her  bonny  laddie," 
quoting  peddler's  poetry,  and  as  I  receive  the  story,  even 
seeking  to  weep  upon  his  neck.  I  own  I  rubbed  my  hands 
over  this  persecution;  but  the  Master,  who  laid  so  much 
upon  others,  was  himself  the  least  patient  of  men. 
There  were  strange  scenes  enacted  in  the  policies.  Some 
toy  he  took  his  cane  to  her,  and  Jessie  fell  back  upon  her 
former  weapon,  stones.  It  is  certain  at  least  that  he  made  a 
motion  to  Captain  Crail  to  have  the  woman  trepanned,  and 
that  the  captain  refused  the  proposition  with  uncommon 
vehemence.  And  the  end  of  the  matter  was  victory  for 
Jessie.  Money  was  got  together;  an  interview  took  place 
in  which  my  proud  gentleman  must  consent  to  be  kissed  and 
wept  upon;  and  the  woman  was  set  up  in  a  public  of  her 
own,  somewhere  on  Solway  side  (but  I  forget  where) 

78 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

and  by  the  only  news  I  ever  had  of  it,  extremely  ill-fre- 
quented. 

This  is  to  look  forward.  After  Jessie  had  been  but  a 
little  while  upon  his  heels,  the  Master  comes  to  me  one  day 
in  the  steward's  office,  and  with  more  civility  than  usual, 
"  Mackellar,"  says  he,  "  there  is  a  damned  crazy  wench 
somes  about  here.  I  cannot  well  move  in  the  matter  myself, 
which  brings  me  to  you.  Be  so  good  as  see  to  it;  the  men 
must  have  a  strict  injunction  to  drive  the  wench  away." 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  trembling  a  little,  "  you  can  do  your  own 
dirty  errands  for  yourself." 

He  said  not  a  word  to  that,  and  left  the  room. 

Presently  came  Mr.  Henry.  "  Here  is  news ! "  cried  he. 
"  It  seems  all  is  not  enough,  and  you  must  add  to  my  wretch- 
edness. It  seems  you  have  insulted  Mr.  Bally." 

"  Under  your  kind  favor,  Mr.  Henry,"  said  I,  "  it  was 
he  that  insulted  me,  and  as  I  think  grossly.  But  I  may 
have  been  careless  of  your  position  when  I  spoke;  and  if 
you  think  so  when  you  know  all,  my  dear  patron,  you  have 
but  to  say  the  word.  For  you  I  would  obey  in  any  point 
whatever,  even  to  sin,  God  pardon  me ! "  And  thereupon 
I  told  him  what  had  passed. 

Mr.  Henry  smiled  to  himself;  a  grimmer  smile  I  never 
witnessed.  "  You  did  exactly  well,"  said  he.  "  He  shall 
drink  his  Jessie  Broun  to  the  dregs."  And  then,  spying  the 
Master  outside,  he  opened  the  window,  and  crying  to  him 
by  the  name  of  Mr.  Bally,  asked  him  to  step  up  and  have 
a  word. 

*'  James,"  said  he,  when  our  persecutor  had  come  in  and 
closed  the  door  behind  him,  looking  at  me  with  a  smile  aa 
if  he  thought  I  was.  to  be  humbled,  "  you  brought  me  a 
complaint  against  Mr.  Mackellar  into  which  I  have  inquired. 
I  need  not  tell  you  I  would  always  take  his  word  against 
yours ;  for  we  are  alone,  and  I  am  going  to  use  something 
of  your  own  freedom.  Mr.  Mackellar  is  a  gentleman  I 
value ;  and  you  must  contrive,  so  long  as  you  are  under  this 
roof,  to  bring  yourself  into  no  more  collisions  with  one 
whom  I  will  support  at  any  possible  cost  to  me  or  mine.  As 

79 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

for  the  errand  upon  which  you  came  to  him,  you  must  de- 
liver yourself  from  the  consequences  of  your  own  cruelty, 
and  none  of  my  servants  shall  be  at  all  employed  in  such 
a  case." 

"  My  father's  servants,  I  believe,"  says  the  Master. 

*'  Go  to  him  with  this  tale,"  said  Mr.  Henry. 

The  Master  grew  very  white.  He  pointed  at  me  witk 
his  finger.  "  I  want  that  man  discharged,"  he  said. 

"  He  shall  not  be,"  said  Mr.  Henry. 

"  You  shall  pay  pretty  dear  for  this,"  says  the  Master. 

"  I  have  paid  so  dear  already  for  a  wicked  brother,"  said 
Mr.  Henry,  "  that  I  am  bankrupt  even  of  fears.  You  have 
no  place  left  where  you  can  strike  me." 

"  I  will  show  you  about  that,"  says  the  Master,  and  went 
softly  away. 

"What  will  he  do  next,  Mackellar?"  cries  Mr.  Henry. 

"  Let  me  go  away,"  said  I.  "  My  dear  patron,  let  me 
go  away ;  I  am  but  the  beginning  of  fresh  sorrows." 

"  Would  you  leave  me  quite  alone? "  said  he. 

We  were  not  long  in  suspense  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
new  assault.  Up  to  that  hour  the  Master  had  played  a  very 
close  game  with  Mrs.  Henry ;  avoiding  pointedly  to  be 
alone  with  her,  which  I  took  at  the  time  for  an  effect  of 
decency,  but  now  think  to  be  a  most  insidious  art ;  meeting 
her,  you  may  say,  at  meal-time  only ;  and  behaving,  when 
he  did  so,  like  an  affectionate  brother.  Up  to  that  hour, 
you  may  say  he  had  scarce  directly  interfered  between  Mr. 
Henry  and  his  wife ;  except  in  so  far  as  he  had  maneuvered 
the  one  quite  forth  from  the  good  graces  of  the  other. 
Now  all  that  was  to  be  changed;  but  whether  really  in 
revenge,  or  because  he  was  wearying  of  Durrisdeer  and 
looked  about  for  some  diversion,  who  but  the  devil  shall 
decide? 

From  that  hour  at  least  began  the  siege  of  Mrs.  Henry; 
a  thing  so  deftly  carried  on  that  I  scarce  know  if  she  was 
aware  of  it  herself,  and  that  her  husband  must  look  on  in 
silence.  The  first  parallel  was  opened  (as  was  made  to 

80 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

appear)  by  accident.  The  talk  fell,  as  it  did  often,  on  the 
exiles  in  France;  so  it  glided  to  the  matter  of  their 
songs. 

"  There  is  one."  says  the  Master,  "  if  you  are  curious 
in  these  matters,  that  has  always  seemed  to  me  very  moving. 
The  poetry  is  harsh ;  and  yet,  perhaps  because  of  my  situa- 
tion, it  has  always  found  the  way  to  my  heart.  It  is 
supposed  to  be  sung,  I  should  tell  you,  by  an  exile's  sweet- 
heart; and  represents,  perhaps,  not  so  much  the  truth  of 
what  she  is  thinking,  as  the  truth  of  what  he  hopes  of  her, 
poor  soul !  in  these  far  lands."  And  here  the  master  sighed. 
"  I  protest  it  is  a  pathetic  sight  when  a  score  of  rough 
Irish,  all  common  sentinels,  get  to  this  song;  and  you  may 
see  by  their  falling  tears,  how  it  strikes  home  to  them.  It 
goes  thus,  father,"  says  he,  very  adroitly  taking  my  lord  for 
his  listener,  "  and  if  I  cannot  get  to  the  end  of  it,  you  must 
think  it  is  a  common  case  with  us  exiles."  And  thereupon 
he  struck  up  the  same  air  as  I  had  heard  the  colonel  whistle ; 
but  now  to  words,  rustic  indeed,  yet  most  pathetically  setting 
forth  a  poor  girl's  aspirations  for  an  exiled  lover :  of  which 
one  verse  indeed  (or  something  like  it)  still  sticks  by  me: 

"O,  I  will  dye  my  petticoat  red, 
With  my  dear  boy  I'll  beg  my  bread, 
Though  all  my   friends  should  wish  me  dead, 
For  Willie  among  the  rushes,  O ! " 

He  sung  it  well  even  as  a  song ;  but  he  did  better  yet  as 
a  performer.  I  have  heard  famous  actors,  when  there  was» 
not  a  dry  eye  in  the  Edinburgh  theater;  a  great  wonder 
to  behold;  but  no  more  wonderful  than  how  the  Master 
played  upon  that  little  ballad  and  on  those  who  heard  him 
like  an  instrument,  and  seemed  now  upon  the  point  of  fail- 
ing, and  now  to  conquer  his  distress,  so  that  words  and 
music  seemed  to  pour  out  of  his  own  heart  and  his  own 
past,  and  to  be  aimed  direct  at  Mrs.  Henry.  And  his  art 
went  further  yet;  for  all  was  so  delicately  touched,  it 
seemed  impossible  to  suspect  him  of  the  least  design;  and 
so  far  from  making  a  parade  of  emotion,  you  would  have 

SI 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

sworn  he  was  striving  to  be  calm.  When  it  came  to  an 
end  we  all  sat  silent  for  a  time;  he  had  chosen  the  dusk  of 
the  afternoon,  so  that  none  could  see  his  neighbor's  face; 
but  it  seemed  as  if  we  held  our  breathing,  only  my  old  lord 
cleared  his  throat.  The  first  to  move  was  the  singer,  who 
got  to  his  feet  suddenly  and  softly,  and  went  and  walked 
softly  to  and  fro  in  the  low  end  of  the  hall,  Mr.  Henry's 
customary  place.  We  were  to  suppose  that  he  there  strug- 
gled down  the  last  of  his  emotion ;  for  he  presently  returned 
and  launched  into  a  disquisition  on  the  nature  of  the  Irish 
(always  so  much  miscalled,  and  whom  he  defended)  in  his 
natural  voice;  so  that,  before  the  lights  were  Drought 
we  were  in  the  usual  course  of  talk.  But  even  then,  me- 
thought  Mrs.  Henry's  face  was  a  shade  pale;  and  for 
another  thing,  she  withdrew  almost  at  once. 

The  next  sign  was  a  friendship  this  insidious  devil  struck 
up  with  innocent  Miss  Katharine ;  so  that  they  were  always 
together,  hand  in  hand,  or  she  climbing  on  his  knee,  like  a 
pair  of  children.  Like  all  his  diabolical  acts,  this  cut  in 
several  ways.  It  was  the  last  stroke  to  Mr.  Henry,  to 
see  his  own  babe  debauched  against  him ;  it  made  him  harsh 
with  the  poor  innocent,  which  brought  him  still  a  peg  lower 
in  his  wife's  esteem;  and  (to  conclude)  it  was  a  bond  of 
union  between  the  lady  and  the  master.  Under  this  in- 
fluence their  old  reserve  melted  by  daily  stages.  Presently 
there  came  walks  in  the  long  shrubbery,  talks  in  the  bel- 
vedere, and  I  know  not  what  tender  familiarity.  I  am  sure 
Mrs.  Henry  was  like  many  a  good  woman ;  she  had  a  whole 
conscience,  but  perhaps  by  the  means  of  a  little  winking. 
For  even  to  so  dull  an  observer  as  myself,  it  was  plain  her 
kindness  was  of  a  more  moving  nature  than  the  sisterly. 
The  tones  of  her  voice  appeared  more  numerous;  she  had 
a  light  and  softness  in  her  eye;  she  was  more  gentle  with 
all  of  us,  even  with  Mr.  Henry,  even  with  myself;  me- 
thought  she  breathed  of  some  quiet,  melancholy  happiness. 

To  look  on  at  this,  what  a  torment  it  was  for  Mr.  Henry ! 
And  yet  it  brought  our  ultimate  deliverance,  as  I  am  soon 
to  tell 


THE  MASTER  OE  BALLANTRAE 

The  purport  of  the  master's  stay  was  no  more  noble 
(gild  it  as  they  might)  than  to  wring-  money  out.  He  had 
some  design  of  a  fortune  in  the  1'rencn  indies,  as  the  cheva- 
lier wrote  me;  and  it  was  the  sum  required  for  this  that 
he  came  seeking.  For  the  rest  of  the  family  it  spelled 
ruin;  but  my  lord,  in  his  incredible  partiality,  pushed  ever 
for  the  granting.  The  family  was  now  so  narrowed  down 
(indeed  there  were  no  more  of  them  than  just  the  father 
and  the  two  sons),  that  it  was  possible  to  break  the  entail, 
and  alienate  a  piece  of  land.  And  to  this,  at  first  by  hints, 
and  then  by  open  pressure,  Mr.  Henry  was  brought  to 
consent.  He  never  would  have  done  so,  I  am  very  well 
assured,  but  for  the  weight  of  the  distress  under  which  he 
labored.  But  for  his  passionate  eagerness  to  see  his  brother 
gone,  he  would  not  thus  have  broken  with  his  own  sentiment 
and  the  traditions  of  his  house.  And  even  so,  he  sold  them 
his  consent  at  a  dear  rate,  speaking  for  once  openly  and 
holding  the  business  up  in  its  own  shameful  colors. 

"  You  will  observe,"  he  said,  "  this  is  an  injustice  to  my 
son,  if  ever  I  have  one." 

"  But  that  you  are  not  likely  to  have,"  said  my  lord. 

"  God  knows !  "  said  Mr.  Henry.  *'  And  considering  the 
cruel  falseness  of  the  position  in  which  I  stand  to  my  brother, 
and  that  you,  my  lord,  are  my  father  and  have  the  right 
to  command  me,  I  set  my  hand  to  this  paper.  But  one 
thing  I  will  say  first:  I  have  been  ungenerously  pushed,  and 
when  next,  my  lord,  you  are  tempted  to  compare  your  sons, 
I  call  on  you  to  remember  what  I  have  done  and  what  he  has, 
done.  Acts  are  the  fair  test." 

My  lord  was  the  most  uneasy  man  I  ever  saw;  even  in 
his  old  face  the  blood  came  up.  "  I  think  this  is  not  a  very 
wisely  chosen  moment,  Henry,  for  complaints,"  said  he./ 
"  This  takes  away  from  the  merit  of  your  generosity." 

"  Do  not  deceive  yourself,  my  lord,"  said  Mr.  Henry.1 
"  This  injustice  is  not  done  from  generosity  to  him,  but  in 
obedience  to  yourself." 

"  Before  strangers — "  begins  my  lord,  still  more  unhapj 
pily  affected. 

If 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

*'  There  is  no  one  but  Mackellar  here,"  said  Mr.  Henry ; 
**  he  is  my  friend.  And,  my  lord,  as  you  make  him  no 
stranger  to  your  frequent  blame,  it  were  hard  if  I  must  keep 
him  one  to  a  thing  so  rare  as  my  defense." 

Almost  I  believe  my  lord  would  have  rescinded  his  de- 
cision; but  the  master  was  on  the  watch. 

"  Ah,  Henry,  Henry,"  says  he,  "  you  are  the  best  of  us 
still.  Rugged  and  true !  Ah,  man,  I  wish  I  was  as  good." 

And  at  that  instance  of  his  favorite's  generosity,  my 
lord  desisted  from  his  hesitation,  and  the  deed  was  signed. 

As  soon  as  it  could  be  brought  about,  the  land  of  Ochter- 
hall  was  sold  for  much  below  its  value,  and  the  money  paid 
over  to  our  leech  and  sent  by  some  private  carriage  into 
France.  Or  so  he  said;  though  I  have  suspected  since  it 
did  not  go  so  far.  And  now  here  was  all  the  man's  busi- 
ness brought  to  a  successful  head,  and  his  pockets  once  more 
bulging  with  our  gold ;  and  yet  the  point  for  which  we  had 
consented  to  this  sacrifice  was  still  denied  us,  and  the  visitor 
still  lingered  on  at  Durrisdeer.  Whether  in  malice,  or  be- 
cause the  time  was  not  yet  come  for  his  adventure  to  the 
Indies,  or  because  he  had  hopes  of  his  design  on  Mrs.  Henry, 
of  from  the  orders  of  the  government,  who  shall  say?  but 
linger  he  did  and  that  for  weeks. 

You  will  observe  I  say:  from  the  orders  of  government; 
for  about  this  time  the  man's  disreputable  secret  trickled 
out. 

The  first  hint  I  had  was  from  a  tenant,  who  commented 
on  the  master's  stay  and  yet  more  on  his  security ;  for  this 
tenant  was  a  Jacobitish  sympathizer,  and  had  lost  a  son 
at  Culloden,  which  gave  him  the  more  critical  eye.  "  There 
is  one  thing,"  said  he,  "  that  I  cannot  but  think  strange ; 
and  that  is  how  he  got  to  Cockermouth." 

"To  Cockermouth?"  said  I,  with  a  sudden  memory  of 
my  first  wonder  on  beholding  the  man  disembark  so  point- 
de-vice  after  so  long  a  voyage. 

"  Why,  yes,"  says  the  tenant,  "  it  was  there  he  was  picked 
up  by  Captain  Crail.  You  thought  he  had  come  from 
France  by  sea?  And  so  we  all  did." 

84 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

I  turned  this  news  a  little  in  my  head,  and  then  carried 
it  to  Mr.  Henry.  "  Here  is  an  odd  circumstance,"  said  I, 
and  told  him. 

"  What  matters  how  he  came,  Mackellar,  as  long  as  he 
is  here,"  groans  Mr.  Henry. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  I,  "  but  think  again !  Does  not  this  smack 
a  little  of  some  government  connivance?  You  know  how 
much  we  have  wondered  already  at  the  man's  security." 

"  Stop,"  said  Mr.  Henry.  "  Let  me  think  of  this."  And 
as  he  thought  there  came  that  grim  smile  upon  his  face 
that  was  a  little  like  the  master's.  "  Give  me  paper,"  said 
he.  And  he  sat  without  another  word  and  wrote  to  a  gen- 
tleman, of  his  acquaintance — I  will  name  no  unnecessary 
names,  but  he  was  one  in  a  high  place.  This  letter  I  dis- 
patched by  the  only  hand  I  could  depend  upon  in  such  a 
case,  Macconochie's ;  and  the  old  man  rode  hard,  for  he 
was  back  with  the  reply  before  even  my  eagerness  had  ven- 
tured to  expect  him.  Again,  as  he  read  it,  Mr.  Henry  had 
the  same  grim  smile. 

"  This  is  the  best  you  have  done  for  me  yet,  Mackellar," 
says  he.  "  With  this  in  my  hand,  I  will  give  him  a  shog. 
Watch  for  us  at  dinner." 

At  dinner  accordingly,  Mr.  Henry  proposed  some  very 
public  appearance  for  the  Master;  and  my  lord,  as  he 
had  hoped,  objected  to  the  danger  of  the  course. 

"  Oh,"  says  Mr.  Henry,  very  easily,  "  you  need  no  longer 
keep  this  up  with  me.  I  am  as  much  in  the  secret  as 
yourself." 

"  In  the  secret  ?"  says  my  lord.  "  What  do  you  mean, 
Henry?  I  give  you  my  word  I  am  in  no  secret  from  which 
you  are  excluded." 

The  Master  had  changed  countenance,  and  I  saw  he  was 
struck  in  a  joint  of  his  harness. 

"  How  ?  "  says  Mr.  Henry,  turning  to  him  with  a  huge 
appearance  of  surprise.  "  I  see  you  serve  your  masters 
very  faithfully;  but  I  had  thought  you  would  have  been 
humane  enough  to  set  your  father's  mind  at  rest." 

"  What  are  you  talking  of?   I  refuse  to  have  my  business 

85 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

publicly  discussed.  I  order  this  to  cease,"  cries  the  Master 
very  foolishly  and  passionately^  and  indeed  more  like  a  child 
than  a  man. 

"  So  much  discretion  was  not  looked  for  at  your  hands, 
I  can  assure  you,"  continued  Mr.  Henry.  "  For  see  what 
my  correspondent  writes  " — unfolding  the  paper — "  *  It  is, 
of  course,  in  the  interests  both  of  the  government  and  the 
gentleman  whom  we  may  perhaps  best  continue  to  call  Mr. 
Bally,  to  keep  this  understanding  secret;  but  it  was  never 
meant  his  own  family  should  continue  to  endure  the  suspense 
you  paint  so  feelingly;  and  I  am  pleased  mine  should  be 
the  hand  to  set  these  fears  at  rest.  Mr.  Bally  is  as  safe  in 
Great  Britain  as  yourself.'  " 

"  Is  this  possible?  "  cries  my  lord,  looking  at  his  son, 
with  a  great  deal  of  wonder  and  still  more  of  suspicion  in 
his  face. 

"  My  dear  father,"  says  the  Master,  already  much  re- 
covered, "  I  am  overjoyed  that  this  may  be  disclosed.  My 
own  instructions  direct  from  London  bore  a  very  contrary 
sense,  and  I  was  charged  to  keep  the  indulgence  secret  from 
every  one,  yourself  not  excepted,  and  indeed  yourself  ex- 
pressly named — as  I  can  show  in  black  and  white,  unless 
I  have  destroyed  the  letter.  They  must  have  changed  their 
mind  very  swiftly,  for  the  whole  matter  is  still  quite  fresh ; 
or  rather  Henry's  correspondent  must  have  misconceived 
that  part,  as  he  seems  to  have  misconceived  the  rest. 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  sir,"  he  continued,  getting  vis- 
ibly more  easy,  "  I  had  supposed  this  unexplained  favor 
to  a  rebel  was  the  effect  of  some  application  from  yourself; 
and  the  injunction  to  secrecy  among  my  family  the  result 
of  a  desire  on  your  part  to  conceal  your  kindness.  Hence 
I  was  the  more  careful  to  obey  orders.  It  remains  now  to 
guess  by  what  other  channel  indulgence  can  have  flowed 
on  so  notorious  an  offender  as  myself;  for  I  do  not  think 
your  son  need  defend  himself  from  what  seems  hinted  at 
in  Henry's  letter.  I  have  never  yet  heard  of  a  Durrisdeer 
who  was  a  turncoat  or  a  spy,"  says  he  proudly. 

And  so  it  seemed  he  had  swum  out  of  this  danger  un- 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

harmed;  but  this  was  to  reckon  without  a  blunder  he  had 
made,  and  without  the  pertinacity  of  Mr.  Henry,  who  was 
now  to  show  he  had  something  of  his  brother's  spirit. 

"  You  say  the  matter  is  still  fresh,"  says  Mr.  Henry. 

"  It  is  recent,"  says  the  Master,  with  a  fair  show  of  stout- 
ness and  yet  not  without  a  quaver. 

"  Is  it  so  recent  as  that  ?  "  asks  Mr.  Henry,  like  a  man 
a  little  puzzled,  and  spreading  his  letter  forth  again. 

In  all  the  letter  there  was  no  word  as  to  the  date,  but 
how  was  the  Master  to  know  that? 

"  It  seemed  to  come  late  enough  for  me,"  says  he,  with  a 
laugh.  And  at  the  sound  of  that  laugh,  which  rang  false 
like  a  cracked  bell,  my  lord  looked  at  him  again  across  the 
table,  and  I  saw  his  old  lips  draw  together  close. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Henry,  still  glancing  on  his  letter,  "  but 
I  remember  your  expression.  You  said  it  was  very  fresh." 

And  here  we  had  a  proof  of  our  victory,  and  the  strong- 
est instance  yet  of  my  lord's  incredible  indulgence ;  for  what 
must  he  do  but  interfere  to  save  his  favorite  from  exposure ! 

**  I  think,  Henry,"  says  he,  with  a  kind  of  pitiful  eager- 
ness, "  I  think  we  need  dispute  no  more.  We  are  all  re- 
joiced at  last  to  find  your  brother  safe;  we  are  all  at  one 
on  that;  and  as  grateful  subjects  we  can  do  no  less  than 
drink  to  the  king's  health  and  bounty." 

Thus  was  the  Master  extricated ;  ,but  at  least  he  had  been 
put  to  his  defense,  he  had  come  lamely  out,  and  the  attrac- 
tion of  his  personal  danger  was  now  publicly  plucked  away 
from  him.  My  lord,  in  his  heart  of  hearts,  now  knew  his 
favorite  to  be  a  government  spy;  and  Mrs.  Henry  (however 
she  explained  the  tale)  was  notably  cold  in  her  behavior  to 
the  discredited  hero  of  romance.  Thus  in  the  best  fabric 
of  duplicity  there  is  some  weak  point,  if  you  can  strike  it, 
which  will  loosen  all;  and  if,  by  this  fortunate  stroke,  we 
had  not  shaken  the  idol,  who  can  say  how  it  might  have  gone 
with  us  at  the  catastrophe? 

And  yet  at  the  time  we  seemed  to  have  accomplished  noth- 
ing. Before  a  day  or  two  he  had  wiped  off  the  ill  results 
of  his  discomfiture,  and  to  all  appearance  stood  as  high  as 

87 


THE  MASTER  OK  BALLANTRAE 

ever.  As  for  my  Lord  Durrisdeer,  he  was  sunk  in  parental 
partiality;  it  was  not  so  much  love,  which  should  be  an 
active  quality,  as  an  apathy  and  torpor  of  his  other  powers ; 
and  forgiveness  (so  to  misapply  a  noble  word)  flowed  from 
him  in  sheer  weakness,  like  the  tears  of  senility.  Mrs. 
Henry's  was  a  different  case;  and  Heaven  alone  knows  what 
he  found  to  say  to  her  or  how  he  persuaded  her  from  her 
contempt.  It  is  one  of  the  worst  things  of  sentiment  that 
the  voice  grows  to  be  more  important  than  the  words,  and 
the  speaker  than  that  which  is  spoken.  But  some  excuse 
the  Master  must  have  found,  or  perhaps  he  had  even  struck 
upon  some  art  to  wrest  this  exposure  to  his  own  advantage ; 
for  after  a  time  of  coldness,  it  seemed  as  if  things  went 
worse  than  ever  between  him  and  Mrs.  Henry.  They  were 
then  constantly  together.  I  would  not  be  thought  to  cast 
one  shadow  of  blame,  beyond  what  is  due  to  a  half -willful 
blindness,  on  that  unfortunate  lady;  but  I  do  think,  in 
these  last  days,  she  was  playing  very  near  the  fire;  and 
whether  I  be  wrong  or  not  in  that,  one  thing  is  sure  and 
quite  sufficient:  Mr.  Henry  thought  so.  The  poor  gentle- 
man sat  for  days  in  my  room,  so  great  a  picture  of  distress 
that  I  could  never  venture  to  address  him;  yet  it  is  to  be 
thought  he  found  some  comfort  even  in  my  presence  and  the 
knowledge  of  my  sympathy.  There  were  times,  too,  when 
we  talked,  and  a  strange  manner  of  talk  it  was;  there  was 
never  a  person  named,  nor  an  individual  circumstance  re- 
ferred to ;  yet  we  had  the  same  matter  in  our  mind,  and  we 
were  each  aware  of  it.  It  is  a  strange  art  that  can  thus 
be  practiced:  to  talk  for  hours  of  a  thing,  and  never  name 
nor  yet  so  much  as  hint  at  it.  And  I  remember  I  won- 
dered if  it  was  by  some  such  natural  skill  that  the  Master 
made  love  to  Mrs.  Henry  all  day  long  (as  he  manifestly 
did),  yet  never  startled  her  into  reserve. 

To  show  how  far  affairs  had  gone  with  Mr.  Henry,  I 
will  give  some  words  of  his,  uttered  (as  I  have  cause  not  to 
forget)  upon  the  26th  of  February,  1757.  It  was  unseason- 
able weather,  a  cast  back  into  winter:  windless,  bitter  cold, 
the  world  all  white  with  rime,  the  sky  low  and  gray;  the 

88 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

fiea  black  and  silent  like  a  quarry  hole.  Mr.  Henry  sat 
close  by  the  fire  and  debated  (as  was  now  common  with 
him)  whether  "  a  man  "  should  "  do  things,"  whether  "  in- 
terference was  wise,"  and  the  like  general  propositions,  which 
each  of  us  particularly  applied.  I  was  by  the  window  look- 
ing out,  when  there  passed  below  me  the  Master,  Mrs.  Henry 
and  Miss  Katharine,  that  now  constant  trio.  The  child 
was  running  to  and  fro  delighted  with  the  frost ;  the  Master 
spoke  close  in  the  lady's  ear  with  what  seemed  (even  from  so 
far)  a  devilish  grace  of  insinuation;  and  she  on  her  part 
looked  on  the  ground  like  a  person  lost  in  listening.  I 
broke  out  of  my  reserve. 

"  If  I  were  you,  Mr.  Henry,"  said  I,  "  I  would  deal  openly 
with  my  lord." 

"  Mackellar,  Mackellar,"  said  he,  "  you  do  not  see  the 
weakness  of  my  ground.  I  can  carry  no  such  base  thoughts 
to  any  one:  to  my  father  least  of  all;  that  would  be  to 
fall  into  the  bottom  of  his  scorn.  The  weakness  of  my 
ground,"  he  continued,  "  lies  in  myself,  that  I  am  not  one 
who  engages  love.  I  have  their  gratitude,  they  all  tell  me 
that:  I  have  a  rich  estate  of  it!  But  I  am  not  present  in 
their  minds ;  they  are  moved  neither  to  think  with  me  nor 
to  think  for  me.  There  is  my  loss!"  He  got  to  his  feet 
and  trod  down  the  fire.  "  But  some  method  must  be  found, 
Mackellar,"  said  he,  looking  at  me  suddenly  over  his  shoul- 
der ;  "  some  way  must  be  found.  I  am  a  man  of  a  great 
deal  of  patience — far  too  much — far  too  much.  I  begin  to 
despise  myself.  And  yet  sure  never  was  a  man  involved  in 
such  a  toil ! "  He  fell  back  to  his  brooding. 

"  Cheer  up,"  said  I.    "  It  will  burst  of  itself." 

"  I  am  far  past  anger  now,"  says  he,  which  had  so  little 
coherency  with  my  own  observation  that  I  let  both  fall. 


89 


ACCOUNT   OF  AI/L  THAT   PASSED   ON  THE  NIGHT   OF   FEBRTTABY 

27,  1757 

ON  the  evening  of  the  interview  referred  to,  the  Master 
went  abroad;  he  was  abroad  a  great  deal  of  the  next 
day  also,  that  fatal  27th;  but  where  he  went  or  what  he 
did,  we  never  concerned  ourselves  to  ask  until  next  day. 
If  we  had  done  so,  and  by  any  chance  found  out,  it  might 
have  changed  all.  But  as  all  we  did  was  done  in  ignorance, 
and  should  be  so  judged,  I  shall  so  narrate  these  passages 
as  they  appeared  to  us  in  the  moment  of  their  birth,  and  re- 
serve ah1  that  I  since  discovered  for  the  time  of  its  discovery. 
For  I  have  now  come  to  one  of  the  dark  parts  of  my  narra- 
tive, and  must  engage  the  reader's  indulgence  for  my  patron. 

All  the  27th,  that  rigorous  weather  endured:  a  stifling 
cold ;  the  folk  passing  about  like  smoking  chimneys ;  the 
wide  hearth  in  the  hall  piled  high  with  fuel;  some  of  the 
spring  birds  that  had  already  blundered  north  into  our 
neighborhood  besieging  the  windows  of  the  house  or  trotting 
on  the  frozen  turf  like  things  distracted.  About  noon  there 
came  a  blink  of  sunshine,  showing  a  very  pretty,  wintery, 
frosty  landscape  of  white  hills  and  woods,  with  Grail's  lug- 
ger waiting  for  a  wind  under  the  Craig  Head,  and  the 
smoke  mounting  straight  into  the  air  from  every  farm  and 
cottage.  With  the  coming  of  night  the  haze  closed  in 
overhead;  it  fell  dark  and  still  and  starless  and  exceeding 
cold:  a  night  the  most  unseasonable,  fit  for  strange 
events. 

Mrs.  Henry  withdrew,  as  was  now  her  custom,  very  early. 
We  had  set  ourselves  of  late  to  pass  the  evening  with  a 
game  of  cards ;  another  mark  that  our  visitor  was  wearying 
mightily  of  the  life  at  Durrisdeer;  and  we  had  not  been 
long  at  this  when  my  old  lord  slipped  from  his  place  beside 
the  fire,  and  was  off  without  a  word  to  seek  the  warmth  of 
bed.  The  three  thus  left  together  had  neither  love  nor 

90 


courtesy  to  share;  not  one  of  us  would  have  sat  up  one 
instant  to  oblige  another;  yet  from  the  influence  of  custom 
and  as  the  cards  had  just  been  dealt,  we  continued  the  form 
of  playing  out  the  round.  I  should  say  we  were  late  sitters ; 
and  though  my  lord  had  departed  earlier  than  was  his  cus- 
tom, twelve  was  already  gone  some  time  upon  the  clock,  and 
the  servants  long  ago  in  bed.  Another  thing  I  should  say, 
that  although  I  never  saw  the  Master  any  way  affected  with 
liquor,  he  had  been  drinking  freely  and  was  perhaps  (al- 
though he  showed  it  not)  a  trifle  heated. 

Any  way,  he  now  practiced  one  of  his  transitions;  and 
so  soon  as  the  door  closed  behind  my  lord,  and  without  the 
smallest  change  of  voice,  shifted  from  ordinary  civil  talk 
into  a  stream  of  insult. 

*'  My  dear  Henry,  it  is  yours  to  play,"  he  had  been  saying, 
and  now  continued :  "  It  is  a  very  strange  thing  how,  even 
in  so  small  a  matter  as  a  game  of  cards,  you  display  your 
rusticity.  You  play,  Jacob,  like  a  bonnet  laird,  or  a  sailor 
in  a  tavern.  The  same  dullness,  the  same  petty  greed,  cette 
lenteur  d'hebete  qui  me  fait  rager;  it  is  strange  I  should 
have  such  a  brother.  Even  Squaretoes  has  a  certain  vivac- 
ity when  his  stake  is  imperiled ;  but  the  dreariness  of  a  game 
with  you,  I  positively  lack  language  to  depict." 

Mr.  Henry  continued  to  look  at  his  cards,  as  though  very 
maturely  considering  some  play;  but  his  mind  was  else- 
where. 

"Dear  God,  will  this  never  be  done?"  cries  the  Master. 
"  Quel  lourdeau!  But  why  do  I  trouble  you  with  French 
expressions,  which  are  lost  on  such  an  ignoramus?  A  lour- 
deau, my  dear  brother,  is  as  we  might  say  a  bumpkin,  a 
clown,  a  clodpole:  a  fellow  without  grace,  lightness,  quick- 
ness; any  gift  of  pleasing,  any  natural  brilliancy:  such 
a  one  as  you  shall  see,  when  you  desire,  by  looking  in  the 
mirror.  I  tell  you  these  things  for  your  good,  I  assure 
you ;  and  besides,  Squaretoes  "  (looking  at  me  and  stifling 
a  yawn),  "  it  is  one  of  my  diversions  in  this  very  dreary 
spot,  to  toast  you  and  your  master  at  the  fire  like  chestnuts. 
I  have  great  pleasure  in  your  case,  for  I  observe  the  nick- 

91 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

name  (rustic  as  it  is),  has  always  the  power  to  make  you 
writhe.  But  sometimes  I  have  more  trouble  with  this  dear 
fellow  here,  who  seems  to  have  gone  to  sleep  upon  his  cards. 
Do  you  not  see  the  applicability  of  the  epithet  I  have  just 
explained,  dear  Henry?  Let  me  show  you.  For  instance, 
with  all  those  solid  qualities  which  I  delight  to  recognize 
in  you,  I  never  knew  a  woman  who  did  not  prefer  me — nor, 
I  think,"  he  continued,  with  the  most  silken  deliberation, 
"  I  think — who  did  not  continue  to  prefer  me." 

Mr.  Henry  laid  down  his  cards.  He  rose  to  his  feet  very 
softly,  and  seemed  all  the  while  like  a  person  in  deep  thought. 
"  You  coward !  "  he  said  gently,  as  if  to  himself.  And  then, 
with  neither  hurry  nor  any  particular  violence,  he  struck  the 
Master  in  the  mouth. 

The  Master  sprung  to  his  feet  like  one  transfigured.  I 
had  never  seen  the  man  so  beautiful.  "  A  blow !  "  he  cried. 
"  I  would  not  take  a  blow  from  God  Almighty." 

"  Lower  your  voice,"  said  Mr.  Henry.  "  Do  you  wish 
my  father  to  interfere  for  you  again?  " 

"  Gentlemen,  gentlemen,"  I  cried,  and  sought  to  come 
between  them. 

The  Master  caught  me  by  the  shoulder,  held  me  at  arm's 
length,  and  still  addressing  his  brother :  "  Do  you  know 
what  this  means  ?  "  said  he. 

"  It  was  the  most  deliberate  act  of  my  life,"  says  Mr. 
Henry. 

"  I  must  have  blood,  I  must  have  blood  for  this,"  says 
the  Master. 

"Please  God  it  shall  be  yours,"  said  Mr.  Henry;  and 
he  went  to  the  wall  and  took  down  a  pair  of  swords  that 
hung  there  with  others,  naked.  These  he  presented  to  the 
Master  by  the  points.  "  Mackellar  shall  see  us  play  fair," 
said  Mr.  Henry.  "  I  think  it  very  needful." 

"  You  need  insult  me  no  more,"  said  the  Master,  taking 
one  of  the  swords  at  random.  "I  have  hated  you  all  my 
life." 

"  My  father  is  but  newly  gone  to  bed,"  said  Mr.  Henry. 
"  We  must  go  somewhere  forth  of  the  house." 

92 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"There  is  an  excellent  place  in  the  long  shrubbery,"  said 
the  Master. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  I,  "  shame  upon  you  both !  Sons  of 
the  same  mother,  would  you  turn  against  the  life  she  gave 
you?" 

"  Even  so,  Mackellar,"  said  Mr.  Henry,  with  the  same 
perfect  quietude  of  manner  he  had  shown  throughout. 

"  It  is  what  I  will  prevent,"  said  I. 

And  now  here  is  a  blot  upon  my  life.  At  these  words  of 
mine  the  Master  turned  his  blade  against  my  bosom;  I  saw 
the  light  run  along  the  steel;  and  I  threw  up  my  arms  and 
fell  to  my  knees  before  him  on  the  floor.  "  No,  no,"  I  cried, 
like  a  baby. 

"  We  shall  have  no  more  trouble  with  him,"  said  the  Mas- 
ter. "  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  coward  in  the  house." 

"  We  must  have  light,"  said  Mr.  Henry,  as  though  there 
had  been  no  interruption. 

"  This  trembler  can  bring  a  pair  of  candles,"  said  the 
Master. 

To  my  shame  be  it  said,  I  was  so  blinded  with  the  flashing 
of  that  bare  sword  that  I  volunteered  to  bring  a  lantern. 

"  We  do  not  need  a  1-1-lantern,"  said  the  Master,  mock- 
ing me.  "  There  is  no  breath  of  air.  Come,  get  to  your 
feet,  take  a  pair  of  lights,  and  go  before.  I  am  close  behind 
with  this — "  making  the  blade  glitter  as  he  spoke. 

I  took  up  the  candlesticks  and  went  before  them,  steps 
that  I  would  give  my  hand  to  recall;  but  a  coward  is  a 
slave  at  the  best ;  and  even  as  I  went,  my  teeth  smote  each 
other  in  my  mouth.  It  was  as  he  had  said,  there  was  no 
breath  stirring;  a  windless  stricture  of  frost  had  bound 
the  air ;  and  as  we  went  forth  in  the  shine  of  the  candles  the 
blackness  was  like  a  roof  over  our  heads.  Never  a  word 
was  said,  there  was  never  a  sound  but  the  creaking  of  our 
steps  along  the  frozen  path.  The  cold  of  the  night  fell 
about  me  like  a  bucket  of  water;  I  shook  as  I  went  with 
more  than  terror^  but  my  companions,  bareheaded  like  my- 
self, and  fresh  from  the  warm  hall,  appeared  not  even 
conscious  of  the  change. 

93 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  Here  is  the  place,"  said  the  Master.  "  Set  down  the 
candles." 

I  did  as  he  bade  me,  and  presently  the  flames  went  up 
as  steady  as  in  a  chamber  in  the  midst  of  the  frosted  trees, 
and  I  beheld  these  two  brothers  take  their  places. 

"  The  light  is  something  in  my  eyes,"  said  the  Master. 

"  I  will  give  you  every  advantage,"  replied  Mr.  Henry, 
shifting  his  ground,  "  for  I  think  you  are  about  to  die."  He 
spoke  rather  sadly  than  otherwise,  yet  there  was  a  ring  in 
his  voice. 

"  Henry  Durie,"  said  the  Master,  "  two  words  before  I 
begin.  You  are  a  fencer,  you  can  hold  a  foil;  you  little 
know  what  a  change  it  makes  to  hold  a  sword !  And  by  that 
I  know  you  are  to  fall.  But  see  how  strong  is  my  situation ! 
If  you  fall,  I  shift  out  of  this  country  to  where  my  money 
is  before  me.  If  I  fall,  where  are  you?  My  father,  your 
wife  who  is  in  love  with  me — as  you  very  well  know — your 
child  even  who  prefers  me  to  yourself:  how  will  these  avenge 
me !  Had  you  thought  of  that,  dear  Henry  ?  "  He  looked 
at  his  brother  with  a  smile;  then  made  a  fencing-room 
salute. 

Never  a  word  said  Mr.  Henry,  but  saluted  too,  and  the 
swords  rang  together. 

I  am  no  judge  of  the  play,  but  my  head  besides  was 
gone  with  cold  and  fear  and  horror;  but  it  seems  that  Mr. 
Henry  took  and  kept  the  upper  hand  from  the  engagement, 
crowding  in  upon  his  foe  with  a  contained  and  glowing 
fury.  Nearer  and  nearer  he  crept  upon  the  man  till,  of  a 
sudden,  the  Master  leaped  back  with  a  little  sobbing  oath; 
and  I  believe  the  movement  brought  the  light  once  more 
against  his  eyes.  To  it  they  went  again,  on  the  fresh  ground ; 
but  now  methought  closer,  Mr.  Henry  pressing  more  out- 
rageously, the  Master  beyond  doubt  with  shaken  confidence. 
For  it  is  beyond  doubt  he  now  recognized  himself  for  lost, 
and  had  some  taste  of  the  cold  agony  of  fear ;  or  he  had 
never  attempted  the  foul  stroke.  I  cannot  say  I  followed  it, 
my  untrained  eye  was  never  quick  enough  to  seize  details, 
but  it  appears  he  caught  his  brother's  blade  with  his  left 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

hand,  a  practice  not  permitted.  Certainly  Mr.  Henry  only 
saved  himself  by  leaping  on  one  side ;  as  certainly  the  Mas- 
ter, lunging  in  the  air,  stumbled  on  his  knee,  and  before  he 
could  move  the  sword  was  through  his  body. 

I  cried  out  with  a  stifled  scream,  and  ran  in ;  but  the  body 
was  already  fallen  to  the  ground,  where  it  writhed  a  moment 
like  a  trodden  worm,  and  then  lay  motionless. 

"  Look  at  his  left  hand,"  said  Mr.  Henry. 

"  It  is  all  bloody,"  said  I. 

"  On  the  inside  ?  "  said  he. 

"  It  is  cut  on  the  inside,"  said  I. 

"  I  thought  so,"  said  he,  and  turned  his  baclc. 

I  opened  the  man's  clothes;  the  heart  was  quite  still,  it 
gave  not  a  flutter. 

"  God  forgive  us,  Mr.  Henry ! "  said  I.     "  He  is  dead." 

"  Dead  ?  "  he  repeated,  a  little  stupidly ;  and  then  with 
a  rising  tone,  "Dead?  dead?"  says  he,  and  suddenly  cast 
his  bloody  sword  upon  the  ground. 

"  What  must  we  do  ?  "  said  I.  "  Be  yourself,  sir.  It  is 
too  late  now:  you  must  be  yourself." 

He  turned  and  stared  at  me.  "  Oh,  Mackellar ! "  says  he, 
and  put  his  face  in  his  hands. 

I  plucked  him  by  the  coat.  "  For  God's  sake,  for  all 
our  sakes,  be  more  courageous ! "  said  I.  "  What  must 
we  do?" 

He  showed  me  his  face  with  the  same  stupid  stare.  **  Do?  " 
says  he.  And  with  that  his  eye  fell  on  the  body,  and  "  oh ! " 
he  cries  out,  with  his  hand  to  his  brow,  as  if  he  had  never 
remembered;  and  turning  from  me,  made  off  toward  the 
house  of  Durrisdeer  at  a  strange,  stumbling  run. 

I  stood  a  moment,  mused;  then  it  seemed  to  me  my  duty 
lay  most  plain  on  the  side  of  the  living;  and  I  ran  after 
him,  leaving  the  candles  on  the  frosty  ground  and  the  body 
lying  in  their  light  under  the  trees.  But  run  as  I  pleased, 
he  had  the  start  of  me,  and  was  got  into  the  house,  and  up  to 
the  hall,  where  I  found  him  standing  before  the  fire  with 
his  face  once  more  in  his  hands,  and  as  he  so  stood,  he  visibly 
shuddered. 

QS 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  Mr.  Henry,  Mr.  Henry,"  I  said,  "  this  will  be  the  ruin 
of  us  all." 

"What  is  this  that  I  have  done?"  cries  he,  and  then, 
looking  upon  me  with  a  countenance  that  I  shall  never  for- 
get, "  Who  is  to  tell  the  old  man?  "  he  said. 

The  word  knocked  at  my  heart;  but  it  was  no  time  for 
weakness.  I  went  and  poured  him  out  a  glass  of  brandy. 
**  Drink  that,"  said  I,  "  drink  it  down."  I  forced  him  to 
swallow  it  like  a  child;  and,  being  still  perished  with  the 
cold  of  the  night,  I  followed  his  example. 

"  It  has  to  be  told,  Mackellar,"  said  he.  "  It  must  be 
told."  And  he  fell  suddenly  in  a  seat — my  old  lord's  seat 
by  the  chimney-side — and  was  shaken  with  dry  sobs. 

Dismay  came  upon  my  soul;  it  was  plain  there  was  no 
help  in  Mr.  Henry.  "  Well,"  said  I,  "  sit  there,  and  leave 
all  to  me."  And  taking  a  candle  in  my  hand,  I  set  forth  out 
of  the  room  in  the  dark  house.  There  was  no  movement;  I 
must  suppose  that  all  had  gone  unobserved ;  and  I  was  now 
to  consider  how  to  smuggle  through  the  rest  with  the  like 
secrecy.  It  was  no  hour  for  scruples;  and  I  opened  my 
lady's  door  without  so  much  as  a  knock,  and  passed  boldly  in. 

"  There  is  some  calamity  happened,"  she  cried,  sitting  up 
in  bed. 

"  Madam,"  said  I,  "  I  will  go  forth  again  into  the  passage ; 
and  do  you  get  as  quickly  as  you  can  into  your  clothes. 
There  is  much  to  be  done." 

She  troubled  me  with  no  questions,  nor  did  she  keep  me 
waiting.  Ere  I  had  time  to  prepare  a  word  of  that  which 
I  must  say  to  her,  she  was  on  the  threshold  signing  me  to 
enter. 

"  Madam,"  said  I,  "  if  you  cannot  be  very  brave,  I  must 
go  elsewhere;  for  if  no  one  helps  me  to-night,  there  is  an 
end  of  the  house  of  Durrisdeer." 

"  I  am  very  courageous,"  said  she ;  and  she  looked  at 
me  with  a  sort  of  smile,  very  painful  to  see,  but  very 
brave  too. 

"  It  has  come  to  a  duel,"  said  I. 

"  A  duel?  "  she  repeated.    "  A  duel!    Henry  and — '• — " 

96 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  And  the  Master,"  said  I.  "  Things  have  been  borne 
so  long,  things  of  which  you  know  nothing,  which  you  would 
not  believe  if  I  should  tell.  But  to-night  it  went  too  far,  and 
when  he  insulted  you " 

"  Stop,"  said  she.     "He?     Who?" 

"  Oh,  madam ! "  cried  I,  my  bitterness  breaking  forth, 
"  do  you  ask  me  such  a  question  ?  Indeed,  then,  I  may  go 
elsewhere  for  help ;  there  is  none  here ! " 

"  I  do  not  know  in  what  I  have  offended  you,"  said  she. 
"  Forgive  me ;  put  me  out  of  this  suspense." 

But  I  dared  not  tell  her  yet;  I  felt  not  sure  of  her;  and 
at  the  doubt  and  under  the  sense  of  impotence  it  brought 
with  it,  I  turned  on  the  poor  woman  with  something  near 
to  anger. 

"  Madam,"  said  I,  "  we  are  speaking  of  two  men ;  one 
of  them  insulted  you,  and  you  ask  me  which.  I  will  help 
you  to  the  answer.  With  one  of  these  men  you  have  spent  all 
your  hours ;  has  the  other  reproached  you  ?  To  one  you 
have  been  always  kind;  to  the  other,  as  God  sees  me  and 
judges  between  us  two,  I  think  not  always;  has  his  love 
ever  failed  you?  To-night  one  of  these  two  men  told  the 
other,  in  my  hearing — the  hearing  of  a  hired  stranger — 
that  you  were  in  love  with  him.  Before  I  say  one  word,  you 
shall  answer  your  own  question:  Which  was  it?  Nay, 
madam,  you  shall  answer  me  another:  If  it  has  come  to  this 
dreadful  end,  whose  fault  is  it?  " 

She  stared  at  me  like  one  dazzled.  "  Good  God ! "  she 
said  once,  in  a  kind  of  bursting  exclamation;  and  then  a 
second  time,  in  a  whisper  to  herself,  "  Great  God !  In  the 
name  of  mercy,  Mackellar,  what  is  wrong?  "  she  cried.  "  I 
am  made  up;  I  can  hear  all." 

"  You  are  not  fit  to  hear,"  said  I.  "  Whatever  it  was, 
you  shall  say  first  it  was  your  fault." 

"  Oh ! "  she  cried,  with  a  gesture  of  wringing  her  hands, 
"  this  man  will  drive  me  mad !  Can  you  not  put  me  out  of 
your  thoughts?  " 

"  I  think  not  once  of  you,"  I  cried.  "  I  think  of  none 
but  my  dear  unhappy  master." 

97 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  Ah ! "  she  cried,  with  her  hand  to  her  heart,  "  is  Henry 
dead?" 

"  Lower  your  voice,"  said  I.    "  The  other." 

I  saw  her  sway  like  something  stricken  by  the  wind,  and 
I  know  not  whether  in  cowardice  or  misery,  turned  aside  and 
looked  upon  the  floor.  "  These  are  dreadful  tidings,"  said 
I  at  length,  when  her  silence  began  to  put  me  in  some  fear ; 
"  and  you  and  I  behove  to  be  the  more  bold  if  the  house 
is  to  be  saved."  Still  she  answered  nothing.  "  There  is 
Miss  Katharine  besides,"  I  added :  "  unless  we  bring  this 
matter  through  her  inheritance  is  like  to  be  of  shame." 

I  do  not  know  if  it  was  the  thought  of  her  child  or  the 
naked  word  shame  that  gave  her  deliverance ;  at  least  I  had 
no  sooner  spoken  than  a  sound  passed  her  lips,  the  like  of 
it  I  never  heard ;  it  was  as  though  she  had  lain  buried  under 
a  hill  and  sought  to  move  that  burden.  And  the  next  mo- 
ment she  had  found  a  sort  of  voice. 

"  It  was  a  fight,"  she  whispered.  "  It  was  not — "  and 
she  paused  upon  the  word. 

"  It  was  a  fair  fight  on  my  dear  master's  part,"  said  I. 
**  As  for  the  other,  he  was  slain  in  the  very  act  of  a  foul 
stroke." 

"  Not  now !  "  she  cried. 

"  Madam,"  said  I,  "  hatred  of  that  man  glows  in  mj 
bosom  h'ke  a  burning  fire;  ay,  even  now  he  is  dead.  God 
knows,  I  would  have  stopped  the  fighting  had  I  dared.  It 
is  my  shame  I  did  not.  But  when  I  saw  him  fall,  if  I  could 
have  spared  one  thought  from  pitying  of  my  master,  it  had 
been  to  exult  in  that  deliverance." 

I  do  not  know  if  she  marked;  but  her  next  words 
were: 

"My  lord?" 

"  That  shall  be  my  part,"  said  I. 

"You  will  not  speak  to  him  as  you  have  to  me?"  she 
asked. 

"  Madam,"  said  I,  "  have  you  not  some  one  eke  to  think 
of?  Leave  my  lord  to  me." 

"  Some  one  else?  "  she  repeated. 

98 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Your  husband,"  said  I.  She  looked  at  me  with  a  coun- 
tenance illegible.  "  Are  you  going  to  turn  your  back  on 
him  ?  "  I  asked. 

Still  she  looked  at  me;  then  her  hand  went  to  her  heart 
again.  "  No,"  said  she. 

"  God  bless  you  for  that  word ! "  I  said.  "  Go  to  him 
now  where  he  sits  in  the  hall ;  speak  to  him — it  matters  not 
what  you  say ;  give  him  you  hand ;  say,  *  I  know  all ' ;  if 
God  gives  you  grace  enough,  say  *  Forgive  me.' ' 

"  God  strengthen  you,  and  make  you  merciful,"  said  she. 
**  I  will  go  to  my  husband." 

"Let  me  light  you  there,"  said  I,  taking  up  the  candle. 

"  I  will  find  my  way  in  the  dark,"  she  said,  with  a  shudder, 
and  I  think  the  shudder  was  at  me. 

So  we  separated,  she  downstairs  to  where  a  little  light 
glimmered  in  the  hall  door,  I  along  the  passage  to  my  lord's 
room.  It  seems  hard  to  say  why,  but  I  could  not  burst  in 
on  the  old  man  as  I  could  on  the  young  woman ;  with  what- 
ever reluctance,  I  must  knock.  But  his  old  slumbers  were 
light,  or  perhaps  he  slept  not;  and  at  the  first  summons  I 
was  bidden  enter. 

He  too  sat  up  in  bed ;  very  aged  and  bloodless  he  looked ; 
and  whereas  he  had  a  certain  largeness  of  appearance  when 
dressed  for  daylight,  he  now  seemed  frail  and  little,  and  his 
face  (the  wig  being  laid  aside)  not  bigger  than  a  child's. 
This  daunted  me;  nor  less,  the  haggard  surmise  of  misfor- 
tune in  his  eye.  Yet  his  voice  was  even  peaceful  as  he  in- 
quired my  errand.  I  sat  my  candle  down  upon  a  chair, 
leaned  on  the  bed-foot,  and  looked  at  him. 

"  Lord  Durrisdeer,"  said  I,  "  it  is  very  well  known  to 
you  that  I  am  a  partisan  in  your  family." 

"  I  hope  we  are  none  of  us  partisans,"  said  he.  "  That 
you  love  my  son  sincerely,  I  have  always  been  glad  to 
recognize." 

**  Oh,  my  lord,  we  are  past  the  hour  of  these  civilities," 
I  replied.  "  If  we  are  to  save  anything  out  of  the  fire,  we 
must  look  the  fact  in  its  bare  countenance.  A  partisan  I 
am ;  partisans  we  have  all  been ;  it  is  as  a  partisan  that  I 

09 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

am  here  in  the  middle  of  the  night  to  plead  before  you.  Hear 
me ;  before  I  go,  I  will  tell  you  why." 

"  I  would  always  hear  you,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  said  he, 
"  and  that  at  any  hour,  whether  of  the  day  or  night,  for  I 
would  be  always  sure  you  had  a  reason.  You  spoke  once 
before  to  very  proper  purpose ;  I  have  not  forgotten  that." 

"  I  am  here  to  plead  the  cause  of  my  master,"  I  said. 
"  I  need  not  tell  you  how  he  acts.  You  know  how  he  is 
placed.  You  know  with  what  generosity  he  has  always  met 
your  other — met  your  wishes,"  I  corrected  myself,  stum- 
bling at  that  name  of  son.  "  You  know — you  must  know 
— what  he  has  suffered — what  he  has  suffered  about  his  wife." 

"  Mr.  Mackellar ! "  cried  my  lord,  rising  in  bed  like  a 
bearded  lion. 

"  You  said  you  would  hear  me,"  I  continued.  "  What 
you  do  not  know,  what  you  should  know,  one  of  the  things 
I  am  here  to  speak  of — is  the  persecution  he  must  bear  in 
private.  Your  back  is  not  turned  before  one  whom  I  dare 
not  name  to  you  falls  upon  him  with  the  most  unfeeling 
taunts ;  twits  him — pardon  me,  my  lord ! — twits  him  with 
your  partiality,  calls  him  Jacob,  calls  him  clown,  pursues 
him  with  ungenerous  raillery,  not  to  be  borne  by  man.  And 
let  but  one  of  you  appear,  instantly  he  changes;  and  my 
master  must  smile  and  courtesy  to  the  man  who  has  been 
feeding  him  with  insults ;  I  know — for  I  have  shared  in 
some  of  it,  and  I  tell  you  the  life  is  insupportable.  All  these 
months  it  has  endured;  it  began  with  the  man's  landing; 
it  was  by  the  name  of  Jacob  that  my  master  was  greeted 
the  first  night." 

My  lord  made  a  movement  as  if  to  throw  aside  the  clothes 
and  rise.  "  If  there  be  any  truth  in  this — "  said  he. 

"Do  I  look  like  a  man  lying?"  I  interrupted,  checking 
him  with  my  hand. 

"  You  should  have  told  me  at  first,"  he  said. 

"  Ah,  my  lord,  indeed  I  should,  and  you  may  well  hate 
the  face  of  this  unfaithful  servant ! "  I  cried. 

"  I  will  take  order,"  said  he,  "  at  once."  And  again  made 
the  movement  to  rise. 

100 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

Again  I  checked  him.  "  I  have  not  done,"  said  I.  "  Would 
God  I  had!  All  this  my  dear,  unfortunate  patron  has 
endured  without  help  or  countenance.  Your  own  best  word, 
my  lord,  was  only  gratitude.  Oh,  but  he  was  your  son, 
too!  He  had  no  other  father.  He  was  hated  in  the  coun- 
,try,  God  knows  how  unjustly.  He  had  a  loveless  marriage. 
He  stood  on  all  hands  without  affection  or  support,  dear, 
generous,  ill-fated,  noble  heart." 

"  Your  tears  do  you  much  honor  and  me  much  shame," 
says  my  lord,  with  a  palsied  trembling.  "But  you  do 
me  some  injustice.  Henry  has  been  ever  dear  to  me,  very 
dear.  James  (I  do  not  deny  it,  Mr.  Mackellar),  James  is 
perhaps  dearer;  you  have  not  seen  my  James  in  quite  a 
favorable  light ;  he  has  suffered  under  his  misfortunes ; 
and  we  can  only  remember  how  great  and  how  unmerited 
these  were.  And  even  now  his  is  the  more  affectionate  nature. 
But  I  will  not  speak  of  him.  All  that  you  say  of  Henry 
is  most  true;  I  do  not  wonder,  I  know  him  to  be  very 
magnanimous ;  you  will  say  I  trade  upon  the  knowledge  ? 
It  is  possible;  there  are  dangerous  virtues;  virtues  that 
tempt  the  encroacher.  Mr.  Mackellar,  I  will  make  it  up 
to  him ;  I  will  take  order  with  all  this.  I  have  been  weak ; 
and  what  is  worse,  I  have  been  dull." 

"  I  must  not  hear  you  blame  yourself,  my  lord,  with  that 
which  I  have  yet  to  tell  upon  my  conscience,"  I  replied. 
"  You  have  not  been  weak ;  you  have  been  abused  by  a 
devilish  dissembler.  You  saw  yourself  how  he  had  deceived 
you  in  the  matter  of  his  danger;  he  has  deceived  you 
throughout  in  every  step  of  his  career.  I  wish  to  pluck  him 
from  your  heart ;  I  wish  to  force  your  eyes  upon  your  other 
son ;  ah,  you  have  a  son  there !  " 

"  No,  no,"  said  he,  "  two  sons — I  have  two  sons." 

I  made  some  gesture  of  despair  that  struck  him;  he 
looked  at  me  with  a  changed  face.  "  There  is  much  worse 
behind? "  he  asked,  his  voice  dying  as  it  rose  upon  the 
question. 

"  Much  worse,"  I  answered.  "  This  night  he  said  these 
words  to  Mr.  Henry :  *  I  have  never  known  a  woman  who 

101 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

did  not  prefer  me  to  you,  and  I  think  who  did  not  continue 
to  prefer  me.' ' 

"  I  will  hear  nothing  against  my  daughter ! "  he  cried ; 
and  from  his  readiness  to  stop  me  in  this  direction,  I  con- 
clude his  eyes  were  not  so  dull  as  I  had  fancied,  and  he  had 
looked  on  not  without  anxiety  upon  the  siege  of  Mrs. 
Henry. 

"  I  think  not  of  blaming  her,"  cried  I.  "  It  is  not  that. 
These  words  were  said  in  my  hearing  to  Mr.  Henry ;  and  if 
you  find  them  not  yet  plain  enough,  these  others  but  a  little 
after :  '  Your  wife  who  is  in  love  with  me.' ' 

"  They  have  quarreled?  "  he  said. 

I  nodded. 

"  I  must  fly  to  them,"  he  said,  beginning  once  again  to 
leave  his  bed. 

"  No,  no !  "  I  cried,  holding  forth  my  hands. 

"  You  do  not  know,"  said  he.  "  These  are  dangerous 
words." 

"Will  nothing  make  you  understand,  my  lord?"  said  I. 

His  eyes  besought  me  for  the  truth. 

I  flung  myself  on  my  knees  by  the  bedside.  "Oh,  my 
lord,"  cried  I,  "  think  on  him  you  have  left,  think  of  this 
poor  sinner  whom  you  begot,  whom  your  wife  bore  to  you, 
whom  we  have  none  of  us  strengthened  as  we  could;  think 
of  him,  not  of  yourself ;  he  is  the  other  sufferer — think  of  him ! 
That  is  the  door  for  sorrow,  Christ's  door,  God's  door ;  oh,  it 
stands  open!  Think  of  him,  even  as  he  thought  of  you. 
Who  is  to  tell  the  old  mem?  these  were  his  words.  It  was 
for  that  I  came;  that  is  why  I  am  here  pleading  at  your 
feet." 

"  Let  me  get  up,"  he  cried,  thrusting  me  aside,  and  was 
on  his  feet  before  myself.  His  voice  shook  like  a  sail  in 
the  wind,  yet  he  spoke  with  a  good  loudness;  his  face  was 
like  the  snow,  but  his  eyes  were  steady  and  dry.  "  Here  is 
too  much  speech!"  said  he.  "Where  was  it?" 

"  In  the  shrubbery,"  said  I. 

"  And  Mr.  Henry  ?  "  he  asked.  And  when  I  had  told  him 
he  knotted  his  old  face  in  thought. 

102 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  And  Mr.  James  ?  "  says  he. 

"  I  have  left  him  lying,"  said  I,  "  beside  the  candles." 

"  Candles  ?  "  he  cried.  And  with  that  he  ran  to  the  win- 
dow, opened  it,  and  looked  abroad.  "  It  might  be  spied  f  rons 
the  road." 

"  Where  none  goes  by  at  such  an  hour,"  I  objected. 

"  It  makes  no  matter,"  he  said.  "  One  might.  Hark !  " 
cries  he.  "What  is  that?" 

It  was  the  sound  of  men  very  guardedly  rowing  in  the 
bay ;  and  I  told  him  so. 

"  The  free-traders,"  said  my  lord.  "  Run  at  once,  Mac- 
kellar;  put  these  candles  out.  I  will  dress  in  the  mean- 
while; and  when  you  return  we  can  debate  on  what  is 
wisest." 

I  groped  my  way  downstairs,  and  out  at  the  door.  From 
quite  a  far  way  off  a  sheen  was  visible,  making  points  of 
brightness  in  the  shrubbery ;  in  so  black  a  night  it  might 
have  been  remarked  for  miles ;  and  I  blamed  myself  bitterly 
for  my  incaution:  How  much  more  sharply  when  I  reached 
the  place!  One  of  the  candlesticks  was  overthrown,  and 
that  taper  quenched.  The  other  burned  steadily  by  itself, 
and  made  a  broad  space  of  light  upon  the  frosted  ground. 
All  within  that  circle  seemed,  by  the  force  of  contrast  and 
the  overhanging  blackness,  brighter  than  by  day.  And  there 
was  the  bloodstain  in  the  midst ;  and  a  little  further  off  Mr. 
Henry's  sword,  the  pommel  of  which  was  of  silver;  but 
of  the  body  not  a  trace.  My  heart  thumped  upon  my  ribs, 
the  hair  stirred  upon  my  scalp,  as  I  stood  there  staring; 
so  strange  was  the  sight,  so  dire  the  fears  it  wakened.  I 
looked  right  and  left ;  the  ground  was  so  hard  it  told  no 
story.  I  stood  and  listened  till  my  ears  ached,  but  the  night 
was  hollow  about  me  like  an  empty  church ;  not  even  a 
ripple  stirred  upon  the  shore;  it  seemed  you  might  have 
heard  a  pin  drop  in  the  county. 

I  put  the  candle  out,  and  the  blackness  fell  about  me  grop- 
ing dark ;  it  was  like  a  crowd  surrounding  me ;  and  I  went 
back  to  the  house  of  Durrisdeer,  with  my  chin  upon  my 
shoulder,  startling,  as  I  went,  with  craven  suppositions.  In 

103 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

the  door  a  figure  moved  to  meet  me,  and  I  had  near  screamed 
with  terror  ere  I  recognized  Mrs.  Henry. 

"  Have  you  told  him?  "  says  she. 

"  It  was  he  who  sent  me,"  said  I.  "  It  is  gone.  But  why 
are  you  here?  " 

"  It  is  gone !  "  she  repeated.    "  What  is  gone  ?  " 

"  The  body,"  said  I.  "  Why  are  you  not  with  your  hus- 
band? " 

"  Gone?  "  said  she.  "  You  cannot  have  looked.  Come 
back." 

"  There  is  no  light  now,"  said  I.     "  I  dare  not." 

"  I  can  see  in  the  dark.  I  have  been  standing  here  so 
long — so  long,"  said  she.  "  Come ;  give  me  your  hand." 

We  returned  to  the  shrubbery  hand  in  hand,  and  to  the 
fatal  place. 

"  Take  care  of  the  blood,"  said  I. 

"  Blood  ?  "  she  cried,  and  started  violently  back. 

"  I  suppose  it  will  be,"  said  I.  "  I  am  like  a  blind 
man." 

"  No,"  said  she,  "nothing!    Have  you  not  dreamed?  " 

"  Ah,  would  to  God  we  had ! "  cried  I. 

She  spied  the  sword,  picked  it  up,  and,  seeing  the  blood, 
let  it  fall  again  with  her  hands  thrown  wide.  "  Ah ! "  she 
cried.  And  then,  with  an  instant  courage,  handled  it  the 
second  time  and  thrust  it  to  the  hilt  into  the  frozen  ground. 
"  I  will  take  it  back  and  clean  it  properly,"  says  she,  and 
again  looked  about  her  on  all  sides.  "  It  cannot  be  that  he 
was  dead  ?  "  she  added. 

"  There  was  no  flutter  of  his  heart,"  said  I,  and  then  re- 
membering: "Why  are  you  not  with  your  husband?  " 

"  It  is  no  use,"  said  she,  "  he  will  not  speak  to  me." 

"Not  speak  to  you?"  I  repeated.  "Oh,  you  have  not 
tried!" 

"You  have  a  right  to  doubt  me,"  she  replied,  with  a 
gentle  dignity. 

At  this,  for  the  first  time,  I  was  seized  with  sorrow  for 
her.  "  God  knows,  madam,"  I  cried,  "  God  knows  I  am 
not  so  hard  as  I  appear;  on  this  dreadful  night,  who  can 

104 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

veneer  his  words?  But  I  am  a  friend  to  all  who  are  not 
Henry  Durie's  enemies !  " 

"  It  is  hard,  then,  you  should  hesitate  about  his  wife," 
said  she. 

I  saw  all  at  once,  like  the  rending  of  a  veil,  how  nobly  she 
had  borne  this  unnatural  calamity,  and  how  generously  my 
reproaches. 

"  We  must  go  back  and  tell  this  to  my  lord,"  said  I. 

"  Him  I  cannot  face,*'  she  cried. 

"  You  will  find  him  the  least  moved  of  all  of  us," 
said  I. 

"  And  yet  I  cannot  face  him,"  said  she. 

"Well,"  said  I,  "you  can  return  to  Mr.  Henry;  I  will 
see  my  lord." 

As  we  walked  back,  I  bearing  the  candlesticks,  she  the 
sword — a  strange  burden  for  that  woman — she  had  another 
thought.  "  Should  we  tell  Henry  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Let  my  lord  decide,"  said  I. 

My  lord  was  nearly  dressed  when  I  came  to  his  chamber. 
He  heard  me  with  a  frown.  "  The  free-traders,"  said  he. 
"  But  whether  dead  or  alive?  " 

"  I  thought  him — "  said  I,  and  paused,  ashamed  of  the 
word. 

"  I  know ;  but  you  may  very  well  have  been  in  error. 
Why  should  they  remove  him  if  not  living? "  he  asked. 
"  Oh,  here  is  a  great  door  of  hope.  It  must  be  given  out 
that  he  departed — as  he  came — without  any  note  of  prep- 
aration. We  must  save  all  scandal." 

I  saw  he  had  fallen,  like  the  rest  of  us,  to  think  mainly 
of  the  house.  Now  that  all  the  living  members  of  the  family 
were  plunged  in  irremediable  sorrow,  it  was  strange  how 
we  turned  to  that  conjoint  abstraction  of  the  family  itself, 
and  sought  to  bolster  up  the  airy  nothing  of  its  reputation : 
not  the  Duries  only,  but  the  hired  steward  himself. 

"  Are  we  to  tell  Mr.  Henry  ?  "  I  asked  him. 

"  I  will  see,"  said  he.  "  I  am  going  first  to  visit  him,  then 
I  go  forth  with  you  to  view  the  shrubbery  and  consider." 

We  went  downstairs  into  the  hall.     Mr.  Henry  sat  by 

105 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

the  table  with  his  head  upon  his  hand,  like  a  man  of  stone. 
His  wife  stood  a  little  back  from  him,  her  hand  at  her 
mouth;  it  was  plain  she  could  not  move  him.  My  old  lord 
walked  very  steadily  to  where  his  son  was  sitting;  he  had 
a  steady  countenance  too,  but  methought  a  little  cold ;  when 
he  was  come  quite  up  he  held  out  both  his  hands  and  said: 
"  My  son !  " 

With  a  broken,  strangled  cry,  Mr.  Henry  leaped  up  and 
fell  on  his  father's  neck,  crying  and  weeping,  the  most  piti- 
ful sight  that  ever  a  man  witnessed.  "  Oh,  father,"  he  cried, 
"  you  know  I  loved  him ;  you  know  I  loved  him  in  the  be- 
ginning; I  could  have  died  for  him — you  know  that!  I 
would  have  given  my  life  for  him  and  you.  Oh,  say  you 
know  that!  Oh,  say  you  can  forgive  me!  Oh,  father, 
father,  what  have  I  done,  what  have  I  done?  and  we  used  to 
be  bairns  together ! "  and  wept  and  sobbed,  and  fondled  the 
old  man,  and  clutched  him  about  the  neck,  with  the  passion 
of  a  child  in  terror. 

And  then  he  caught  sight  of  his  wife,  you  would  have 
thought  for  the  first  time,  where  she  stood  weeping  to  hear 
him ;  and  in  a  moment  had  fallen  at  her  knees.  "  And  oh, 
my  lass,"  he  cried,  "  you  must  forgive  me,  too !  Not  your 
husband — I  have  only  been  the  ruin  of  your  life.  But  you 
knew  me  when  I  was  a  lad;  there  was  no  harm  in  Henry 
Durie  then ;  he  meant  aye  to  be  a  friend  to  you.  It's  him 
— it's  the  old  bairn  that  played  with  you— oh,  can  ye  never, 
never  forgive  him  ?  " 

Throughout  all  this  my  lord  was  like  a  cold,  kind  spec- 
tator with  his  wits  about  him.  At  the  first  cry,  which  was 
indeed  enough  to  call  the  house  about  us,  he  had  said  to 
me  over  his  shoulder,  "  Close  the  door."  And  now  he  nodded 
to  himself. 

"  We  may  leave  him  to  his  wife  now,"  says  he.  "  Bring 
a  light,  Mr.  Mackellar." 

Upon  my  going  forth  again  with  my  lord,  I  was  aware 
of  a  strange  phenomenon ;  for  though  it  was  quite  dark, 
and  the  night  not  yet  old  methought  I  smelled  the  morning. 
At  the  same  time  there  went  a  tossing  through  the  branches 

106 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

of  the  evergreens,  so  that  they  sounded  like  a  quiet  sea;  ano! 
the  air  puffed  at  times  against  our  faces,  and  the  flame  of 
the  candle  shook.  We  made  the  more  speed,  I  believe,  being 
surrounded  by  this  bustle;  visited  the  scene  of  the  duel, 
where  my  lord  looked  upon  the  blood  with  stoicism;  and 
passing  further  on  toward  the  landing-place,  came  at  last 
upon  some  evidences  of  the  truth.  For  first  of  all,  where 
there  was  a  pool  across  the  path,  the  ice  had  been  trodden 
in,  plainly  by  more  than  one  man's  weight;  next,  and  but 
a  little  further,  a  young  tree  was  broken ;  and  down  by  the 
landing-place,  where  the  traders'  boats  were  usually  beached, 
another  stain  of  blood  marked  where  the  body  must  have  been 
infallibly  set  down  to  rest  the  bearers. 

This  stain  we  set  ourselves  to  wash  away  with  the  sea- 
water,  carrying  it  in  my  lord's  hat;  and  as  we  were  thus 
engaged  there  came  up  a  sudden,  moaning  gust  and  left  us 
instantly  benighted. 

"  It  will  come  to  snow,"  says  my  lord ;  "  and  the  best 
thing  that  we  could  hope.  Let  us  go  back  now;  we  can 
do  nothing  in  the  dark." 

As  we  went  houseward,  the  wind  being  again  subsided,  we 
were  aware  of  a  strong  pattering  noise  about  us  in  the 
night;  and  when  we  issued  from  the  shelter  of  the  trees, 
we  found  it  raining  smartly. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  this,  my  lord's  clearness  of  mind, 
no  less  than  his  activity  of  body,  had  not  ceased  to  minister 
to  my  amazement.  He  set  the  crown  upon  it  in  the  council 
we  held  on  our  return.  The  free-traders  had  certainly  se- 
cured the  Master,  though  whether  dead  or  alive  we  were  still 
left  to  our  conjectures ;  the  rain  would,  long  before  day, 
wipe  out  all  marks  of  the  transaction ;  by  this  we  must  profit : 
the  Master  had  unexpectedly  come  after  the  fall  of  night, 
it  must  now  be  given  out  he  had  as  suddenly  departed  before 
the  break  of  day ;  and  to  make  all  this  plausible,  it  now  only 
remained  for  me  to  mount  into  the  man's  chamber,  and 
pack  and  conceal  his  baggage.  True,  we  still  lay  at  the 
discretion  of  the  traders ;  but  that  was  the  incurable  weakness 
of  our  guilt. 

107 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

I  heard  him,  as  I  said,  with  wonder,  and  hastened  to 
obey.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  were  gone  from  the  hall;  my 
lord,  for  warmth's  sake,  hurried  to  his  bed;  there  was  still 
no  sign  of  stir  among  the  servants,  and  as  I  went  up  the 
tower  stair,  and  entered  the  dead  man's  room,  a  hor- 
ror of  solitude  weighed  upon  my  mind.  To  my  extreme 
surprise,  it  was  all  in  the  disorder  of  departure.  Of  his 
three  portmanteaus,  two  were  ready  locked,  the  third  lay 
open  and  near  full.  At  once  there  flashed  upon  me  some 
suspicion  of  the  truth.  The  man  had  been  going  after  all; 
he  had  but  waited  upon  Crail,  as  Crail  waited  upon  the  wind ; 
early  in  the  night  the  seamen  had  perceived  the  weather 
changing;  the  boat  had  oome  to  give  notice  of  the  change 
and  call  the  passenger  aboard,  and  the  boat's  crew  had 
stumbled  on  him  lying  in  his  blood.  Nay,  and  there  was 
more  behind.  This  prearranged  departure  shed  some  light 
upon  his  inconceivable  insult  of  the  night  before;  it  was 
a  parting  shot;  hatred  being  no  longer  checked  by  policy. 
And  for  another  thing,  the  nature  of  that  insult,  and  the 
conduct  of  Mrs.  Henry,  pointed  to  one  conclusion:  which 
I  have  never  verified,  and  can  now  never  verify  until  the 
great  assize,  the  conclusion  that  he  had  at  last  forgotten 
himself,  had  gone  too  far  in  his  advances,  and  had  been  re- 
buffed. It  can  never  be  verified,  as  I  say ;  but  as  I  thought 
of  it  that  morning  among  his  baggage,  the  thought  was  sweet 
to  me  like  honey. 

Into  the  open  portmanteau  I  dipped  a  little  ere  I  closed 
it.  The  most  beautiful  lace  and  linen,  many  suits  of  those 
fine  plain  clothes  in  which  he  loved  to  appear;  a  book  or 
two,  and  those  of  the  best,  Csesar's  "  Commentaries,"  a 
volume  of  Mr.  Hobbes,  the  "Henriade,"  of  M.  de  Voltaire, 
a  book  upon  the  Indies,  one  on  the  mathematics,  far  beyond 
where  I  have  studied:  these  were  what  I  observed  with  very 
mingled  feelings.  But  in  the  open  portmanteau,  no  papers 
of  any  description.  This  set  me  musing.  It  was  possible 
the  man  was  dead;  but,  since  the  traders  had  carried  him 
away,  not  likely.  It  was  possible  he  might  still  die  of  his 
wound;  but  it  was  also  possible  he  might  not.  And  in  this 

108 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

latter  case  I  was  determined  to  have  the  means  of  some 
defense. 

One  after  another  I  carried  his  portmanteaus  to  a  loft 
in  the  top  of  the  house  which  we  kept  locked;  went  to  my 
own  room  for  my  keys,  and  returning  to  the  loft,  had  the 
gratification  to  find  two  that  fitted  pretty  well.  In  one  of 
the  portmanteaus  there  was  a  shagreen  letter-case,  which 
I  cut  open  with  my  knife;  and  thenceforth  (so  far  as  any 
credit  went)  the  man  was  at  my  mercy.  Here  was  a  vast 
deal  of  gallant  correspondence,  chiefly  of  his  Paris  days; 
and  what  was  more  to  the  purpose,  here  were  the  copies  of 
his  own  reports  to  the  English  secretary,  and  the  originals 
of  the  secretary's  answers :  a  most  damning  series :  such  as 
to  publish  would  be  to  wreck  the  Master's  honor  and  to  set 
a  price  upon  his  life.  I  chuckled  to  myself  as  I  ran  through 
the  documents;  I  rubbed  my  hands,  I  sung  aloud  in  my 
glee.  Day  found  me  at  the  pleasing  task,  nor  did  I  then 
remit  my  diligence,  except  in  so  far  as  I  went  to  the  window 
— looked  out  for  a  moment,  to  see  the  frost  quite  gone, 
the  world  turned  black  again,  and  the  rain  and  the  wind 
driving  in  the  bay — and  to  assure  myself  that  the  lugger 
was  gone  from  its  anchorage,  and  the  master  (whether  dead 
or  alive)  now  tumbling  on  the  Irish  Sea. 

It  is  proper  I  should  add  in  this  place  the  very  little  I 
have  subsequently  angled  out  upon  the  doings  of  that  night. 
It  took  me  a  long  while  to  gather  it ;  for  we  dared  not  openly 
ask,  and  the  free-traders  regarded  me  with  enmity,  if  not 
with  scorn.  It  was  near  six  months  before  we  even  knew 
for  certain  that  the  man  survived;  and  it  was  years  before 
I  learned  from  one  of  Crail's  men,  turned  publican  on  his 
ill-gotten  gain,  some  particulars  which  smack  to  me  of  truth. 
It  seems  the  traders  found  the  Master  struggled  on  one 
elbow,  and  now  staring  round  him,  and  now  gazing  at  the 
candle  or  at  his  hand,  which  was  all  bloodied,  like  a  man 
stupid.  Upon  their  coming  he  would  seem  to  have  found 
his  mind,  bade  them  carry  him  aboard  and  hold  their  tongues ; 
and  on  the  captain  asking  how  he  had  come  in  such  a  pickle, 
replied  with  a  burst  of  passionate  swearing,  and  incon- 

109 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

tinently  fainted.  They  held  some  debate,  but  they  were  mo- 
mently looking  for  a  wind,  they  were  highly  paid  to  smuggle 
him  to  France,  and  did  not  care  to  delay.  Besides  which, 
he  was  well  enough  liked  by  these  abominable  wretches :  they 
supposed  him  under  capital  sentence,  knew  not  in  what  mis- 
chief he  might  have  got  his  wound,  and  judged  it  a  piece 
of  good  nature  to  remove  him  out  of  the  way  of  danger. 
So  he  was  taken  aboard,  recovered  on  the  passage  over, 
and  was  set  ashore  a  convalescent  at  the  Havre  de  Grace. 
What  is  truly  notable :  he  said  not  a  word  to  any  one  of  the 
duel,  and  not  a  trader  knows  to  this  day  in  what  quarrel, 
or  by  the  hand  of  what  adversary,  he  fell.  With  any  other 
man  I  should  have  set  this  down  to  natural  decency;  with 
him,  to  pride.  He  could  not  bear  to  avow,  perhaps  even  to 
himself,  that  he  had  been  vanquished  by  one  whom  he  had 
so  much  insulted  and  whom  he  so  cruelly  despised. 


110 


SUMMARY  OP  EVENTS  DURING  THE  MASTER'S  SECOND  ABSENCE 

OF  the  heavy  sickness  which  declared  itself  next  morning, 
I  can  think  with  equanimity  as  of  the  last  anmingled 
trouble  that  befell  my  master ;  and  even  that  was  perhaps 
a  mercy  in  disguise;  for  what  pains  of  the  body  could 
equal  the  miseries  of  his  mind?  Mrs.  Henry  and  I  had  the 
watching  by  the  bed.  My  old  lord  called  from  time  to 
time  to  take  the  news,  but  would  not  usually  pass  the  door. 
Once,  I  remember,  when  hope  was  nigh  gone,  he  stepped  to 
the  bedside,  looked  awhile  in  his  son's  face,  and  turned 
away  with  a  singular  gesture  of  the  head  and  hand  thrown 
up,  that  remains  upon  my  mind  as  something  tragic;  such 
grief  and  such  a  scorn  of  sublunary  things  were  there  ex- 
pressed. But  the  most  of  the  time,  Mrs.  Henry  and  I  had 
the  room  to  ourselves,  taking  turns  by  night  and  bearing 
each  other  company  by  day,  for  it  was  dreary  watching. 
Mr.  Henry,  his  shaven  head  bound  in  a  napkin,  tossed  to  and 
fro  without  remission,  beating  the  bed  with  his  hands.  His 
tongue  never  lay;  his  voice  ran  continuously  like  a  river, 
so  that  my  heart  was  weary  with  the  sound  of  it.  It  was 
notable,  and  to  me  inexpressibly  mortifying,  that  he  spoke 
all  the  while  on  matters  of  no  import:  comings  and  goings, 
horses — which  he  was  ever  calling  to  have  saddled,  thinking 
perhaps  (the  poor  soul!)  that  he  might  ride  away  from  his 
discomfort — matters  of  the  garden,  the  salmon  nets,  and 
(what  I  particularly  raged  to  hear)  continually  of  his  af- 
fairs, ciphering  figures  and  holding  disputation  with  the 
tenantry.  Never  a  word  of  his  father  or  his  wife,  nor  of 
the  master,  save  only  for  a  day  or  two,  when  his  mind  dwelt 
entirely  in  the  past  and  he  supposed  himself  a  boy  again 
and  upon  some  innocent  child's  play  with  his  brother.  What 
made  this  the  more  affecting:  it  appeared  the  Master  had 
then  run  some  peril  of  his  life,  for  there  was  a  cry — "  Oh, 

111 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

Jamie  will  be  drowned — oh,  save  Jamie ! "  which  he  came 
over  and  over  with  a  great  deal  of  passion. 

This,  I  say,  was  affecting,  both  to  Mrs.  Henry  and  my- 
self ;  but  the  balance  of  my  master's  wanderings  did  him  little 
justice.  It  seemed  he  had  set  out  to  justify  his  brother's 
calumnies;  as  though  he  was  bent  to  prove  himself  a  man 
of  a  dry  nature,  immersed  in  money-getting.  Had  I  been 
there  alone,  I  would  not  have  troubled  my  thumb;  but  all 
the  while,  as  I  listened,  I  was  estimating  the  effect  on  the 
man's  wife,  and  telling  myself  that  he  fell  lower  every  day. 
I  was  the  one  person  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  that  com- 
prehended him,  and  I  was  bound  there  should  be  yet  another. 
Whether  he  was  to  die  there  and  his  virtues  perish;  or 
whether  he  should  save  his  days  and  come  back  to  that  in- 
heritance of  sorrows,  his  right  memory,  I  was  bound  he 
should  be  heartily  lamented  in  the  one  case  and  unaffectedly 
welcomed  in  the  other,  by  the  person  he  loved  the  most, 
his  wife. 

Finding  no  occasion  of  free  speech,  I  bethought  me  at  last 
of  a  kind  of  documentary  disclosure;  and  for  some  nights, 
when  I  was  off  duty  and  should  have  been  asleep,  I  gave  my 
time  to  the  preparation  of  that  which  I  may  call  my  budget. 

But  this  I  found  to  be  the  easiest  portion  of  my  task,  and 
that  which  remained,  namely,  the  presentation  to  my  lady, 
almost  more  than  I  had  fortitude  to  overtake.  Several  days 
I  went  about  with  my  papers  under  my  arm,  spying  for  some 
juncture  of  talk  to  serve  as  introduction.  I  will  not  deny  but 
that  some  offered;  only  when  they  did,  my  tongue  clove  to 
the  roof  of  my  mouth ;  and  I  think  I  might  have  been  carry- 
ing about  my  packet  till  this  day,  had  not  a  fortunate  acci- 
dent delivered  me  from  all  my  hesitations.  This  was  at  night, 
when  I  was  once  more  leaving  the  room,  the  thing  not  yet 
done,  and  myself  in  despair  at  my  own  cowardice. 

"  What  do  you  carry  about  with  you,  Mr.  Mackellar  ?  " 
she  asked.  "  These  last  days,  I  see  you  always  coming  in 
and  out  with  the  same  armful." 

I  returned  upon  my  steps  without  a  word,  laid  the  papers 
before  her  on  the  table,  and  left  her  to  her  reading.  Of  what 

112 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

that  was,  I  am  now  to  give  you  some  Idea ;  and  the  best  will 
be  to  reproduce  a  letter  of  my  own  which  came  first  in  the 
budget  and  of  which  (according  to  an  excellent  habitude)  I 
have  preserved  the  scroll.  It  will  show  too  the  moderation 
of  my  part  in  these  affairs,  a  thing  which  some  have  called 
recklessly  in  question. 

"  DTJRRISDEER. 

"  1757. 

"  HONORED  MADAM  :  I  trust  I  would  not  step  out  of  my 
place  without  occasion;  but  I  see  how  much  evil  has  flowed 
in  the  past  to  all  of  your  noble  house  from  that  unhappy 
and  secretive  fault  of  reticency,  and  the  papers  on  which  I 
venture  to  call  your  attention  are  family  papers  and  all 
highly  worthy  your  acquaintance. 

"  I  append  a  schedule  with  some  necessary  observations, 
"  And  am, 

"  Honored  madam, 
**  Your  ladyship's  obliged,  obedient  servant, 

"  EPHRAIM  MACKELLAR. 


"  Schedule  of  Papers. 

**  A.  Scroll  of  ten  letters  from  Ephraim  Mackellar  to 
the  Honorable  James  Durie,  Esq.,  by  courtesy  Master  of 
Ballantrae  during  the  latter's  residence  in  Paris:  under 
dates — "  (follow  the  dates) — **  Not  a:  to  be  read  in  connec- 
tion with  B.  and  C. 

"  Bl  Seven  original  letters  from  the  said  Master  of  Bal- 
lantrae to  the  said  E.  Mackellar,  under  dates — "  (follow  the 
dates). 

"  C.  Three  original  letters  from  the  said  Master  of  Bal- 
lantrae to  the  Honorable  Henry  Durie,  Esq.,  under  dates — 
(follow  the  dates) — •"  Nota:  given  me  by  Mr.  Henry  to  an- 
swer :  copies  of  my  answers  A  4,  A  5,  and  A  9  of  these  pro- 
ductions. The  purport  of  Mr.  Henry's  communications,  of 
which  I  can  find  no  scroll,  may  be  gathered  from  those  of  his 
unnatural  brother. 

113 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  D.  A  correspondence,  original  and  scroll,  extending 
over  a  period  of  three  years  till  January  of  the  current  year, 

between  the  said  Master  of  Ballantrae  and ,  Under 

Secretary  of  State ;  twenty-seven  in  all.    Not  a :  found  among 
the  master's  papers." 

Weary  as  I  was  with  watching  and  distress  of  mind,  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  sleep.  All  night  long  I  walked  in  my 
chamber,  revolving  what  should  be  the  issue  and  sometimes 
repenting  the  temerity  of  my  immixture  in  affairs  so  private ; 
and  with  the  first  peep  of  the  morning,  I  was  at  the  sick-room 
door.  Mrs.  Henry  had  thrown  open  the  shutters  and  even 
the  window,  for  the  temperature  was  mild.  She  looked  stead- 
fastly before  her,  where  was  nothing  to  see,  or  only  the  blue 
of  the  morning  creeping  among  woods.  Upon  the  stir  of  my 
entrance  she  did  not  so  much  as  turn  about  her  face:  a  cir- 
cumstance from  which  I  augured  very  ill. 

"  Madam,"  I  began ;  and  then  again,  "  Madam  " ;  but  could 
make  no  more  of  it.  Nor  yet  did  Mrs.  Henry  come  to  my 
assistance  with  a  word.  In  this  pass  I  began  gathering  up 
the  papers  where  they  lay  scattered  on  the  table;  and  the 
first  thing  that  struck  me,  their  bulk  appeared  to  have  dimin- 
ished. Once  I  ran  them  through,  and  twice;  but  the  corre- 
spondence with  the  secretary  of  state,  on  which  I  had  reckoned 
so  much  against  the  future,  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  I 
looked  in  the  chimney;  amid  the  smoldering  embers  black 
ashes  of  paper  fluttered  in  the  draught ;  and  at  that  my  timid- 
ity vanished. 

"  Good  God,  madam,"  cried  I,  in  a  voice  not  fitting  for  a 
sick-room,  "  good  God,  madam,  what  have  you  done  with  my 
papers?  " 

"  I  have  burned  them,"  said  Mrs.  Henry,  turning  about. 
"  It  is  enough,  it  is  too  much,  that  you  and  I  have  seen 
them." 

"  This  is  a  fine  night's  work  that  you  have  done !  "  cried  I. 
*'  And  all  to  save  the  reputation  of  a  man  that  ate  bread  by 
the  shedding  of  his  comrades'  blood,  as  I  do  by  the  shedding 
of  ink." 

114 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  To  save  the  reputation  of  that  family  in  which  you  are  a 
servant,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  she  returned,  "  and  for  which  you 
have  already  done  so  much." 

"  It  is  a  family  I  will  not  serve  much  longer,"  I  cried,  "  for 
I  am  driven  desperate.  You  have  stricken  the  sword  out  of 
my  hands ;  you  have  left  us  all  defenseless.  I  had  always 
these  letters  I  could  shake  over  his  head;  and  now — what  is 
to  do?  We  are  so  falsely  situate,  we  dare  not  show  the  man 
the  door ;  the  country  would  fly  on  fire  against  us ;  and  I  had 
this  one  hold  upon  him — and  now  it  is  gone — now  he  may 
come  back  to-morrow,  and  we  must  all  sit  down  with  him  to 
dinner,  go  for  a  stroll  with  him  on  the  terrace,  or  take  a  hand 
at  cards,  of  all  things,  to  divert  his  leisure!  No,  madam; 
God  forgive  you,  if  he  can  find  it  in  his  heart ;  for  I  cannot 
find  it  in  mine." 

"  I  wonder  to  find  you  so  simple,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  said  Mrs. 
Henry.  "  What  does  this  man  value  reputation?  But  he 
knows  how  high  we  prize  it;  he  knows  we  would  rather  die 
than  make  these  letters  public ;  and  do  you  suppose  he  would 
not  trade  upon  the  knowledge?  What  you  call  your  sword, 
Mr.  Mackellar,  and  which  had  been  one  indeed  against  a  man 
of  any  remnant  of  propriety,  would  have  been  but  a  sword  of 
paper  against  him.  He  would  smile  in  your  face  at  such  a 
threat.  He  stands  upon  his  degradation,  he  makes  that  his 
strength ;  it  is  in  vain  to  struggle  with  such  characters."  She 
cried  out  this  last  a  little  desperately,  and  then  with  more 
quiet :  "  No,  Mr.  Mackellar,  I  have  thought  upon  this  matter 
all  night,  and  there  is  no  way  out  of  it.  Papers  or  no  papers, 
the  door  of  this  house  stands  open  for  him ;  he  is  the  rightful 
heir,  forsooth!  If  we  sought  to  exclude  him,  all  would  re- 
dound against  poor  Henry,  and  I  should  see  him  stoned  again 
upon  the  streets.  Ah !  if  Henry  dies,  it  is  a  different  matter ! 
They  have  broke  the  entail  for  their  own  good  purposes ;  the 
estate  goes  to  my  daughter;  and  I  shall  see  who  sets  a  foot 
upon  it.  But  if  Henry  lives,  my  poor  Mr.  Mackellar,  and 
that  man  returns,  we  must  suffer;  only  this  time  it  will  be 
together." 

On  the  whole,  I  was  well  pleased  with  Mrs.  Henry's  atti- 

115 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

tude  of  mind ;  nor  could  I  even  deny  there  was  some  cogency 
in  that  which  she  advanced  about  the  papers. 

"  Let  us  say  no  more  about  it,"  said  I.  "  I  can  only  be 
sorry  I  trusted  a  lady  with  the  originals,  which  was  an  un- 
business-like  proceeding  at  the  best.  As  for  what  I  said  of 
leaving  the  service  of  the  family,  it  was  spoken  with  the 
tongue  only;  and  you  may  set  your  mind  at  rest.  I  be- 
long to  Durrisdeer,  Mrs.  Henry,  as  if  I  had  been  born 
there." 

I  must  do  her  the  justice  to  say  she  seemed  perfectly  re- 
lieved ;  so  that  we  began  this  morning,  as  we  were  to  continue 
for  so  many  years,  on  a  proper  ground  of  mutual  indulgence 
and  respect. 

The  same  day,  which  was  certainly  predicate  to  joy,  we 
observed  the  first  signal  of  recovery  in  Mr.  Henry ;  and  about 
three  of  the  following  afternoon  he  found  his  mind  again, 
recognizing  me  by  name  with  the  strongest  evidences  of  af- 
fection. Mrs.  Henry  was  also  in  the  room,  at  the  bed-foot ; 
but  it  did  not  appear  that  he  observed  her.  And  indeed  (the 
fever  being  gone)  he  was  so  weak  that  he  made  but  the  one 
effort  and  sunk  again  into  a  lethargy.  The  course  of  his 
restoration  was  now  slow  but  equal;  every  day  his  appetite 
improved ;  every  week  we  were  able  to  remark  an  increase  both 
of  strength  and  flesh;  and  before  the  end  of  the  month  he 
was  out  of  bed  and  had  even  begun  to  be  carried  in  his  chair 
upon  the  terrace. 

It  was  perhaps  at  this  time  that  Mrs.  Henry  and  I  were 
the  most  uneasy  in  mind.  Apprehension  for  his  days  was  at 
an  end ;  and  a  worse  fear  succeeded.  Every  day  we  drew  con- 
sciously nearer  to  a  day  of  reckoning;  and  the  days  passed 
on,  and  still  there  was  nothing.  Mr.  Henry  bettered  in 
strength,  he  held  long  talks  with  us  on  a  great  diversity  of 
subjects,  his  father  came  and  sat  with  him  and  went  again; 
and  still  there  was  no  reference  to  the  late  tragedy  or  to  the 
former  troubles  which  had  brought  it  on.  Did  he  remember, 
and  conceal  his  dreadful  knowledge?  or  was  the  whole  blotted 
from  his  mind?  this  was  the  problem  that  kept  us  watching 
and  trembling  all  day  when  we  were  in  his  company,  and 

116 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

held  us  awake  at  night  when  we  were  in  our  lonely  beds.  We 
knew  not  even  which  alternative  to  hope  for,  both  appearing 
;so  unnatural  and  pointing  so  directly  to  an  unsound  brain. 
jOnce  this  fear  offered,  I  observed  his  conduct  with  sedulous 
particularity.  Something  of  the  child  he  exhibited :  a  cheer- 
fulness quite  foreign  to  his  previous  character,  an  interest 
readily  aroused,  and  then  very  tenacious,  in  small  matters 
which  he  had  heretofore  despised.  When  he  was  stricken 
down,  I  was  his  only  confidant,  and  I  may  say  his  only  friend, 
and  he  was  on  terms  of  division  with  his  wife;  upon  his  re- 
covery all  was  changed,  the  past  forgotten,  the  wife  first  and 
even  single  in  his  thoughts.  He  turned  to  her  with  all  his 
emotions  like  a.  child  to  its  mother,  and  seemed  secure  of 
sympathy ;  called  her  in  all  his  needs  with  something  of  that 
querulous  familiarity  that  marks  a  certainty  of  indulgence; 
and  I  must  say,  in  justice  to  the  woman,  he  was  never  dis- 
appointed. To  her,  indeed,  this  changed  behavior  was  inex- 
pressibly affecting;  and  I  think  she  felt  it  secretly  as  a 
reproach ;  so  that  I  have  seen  her,  in  early  days,  escape  out 
of  the  room  that  she  might  indulge  herself  in  weeping.  But 
to  me  the  change  appeared  not  natural ;  and  viewing  it  along 
with  all  the  rest,  I  began  to  wonder,  with  many  head-shakings, 
whether  his  reason  were  perfectly  erect. 

As  this  doubt  stretched  over  many  years,  endured  indeed 
until  my  master's  death,  and  clouded  all  our  subsequent  rela- 
tions, I  may  well  consider  of  it  more  at  large.  When  he  was 
able  to  resume  some  charge  of  his  affairs  I  had  many  oppor- 
tunities to  try  him  with  precision.  There  was  no  lack  of 
understanding,  nor  yet  of  authority ;  but  the  old  continuous 
interest  had  quite  departed ;  he  grew  readily  fatigued  and 
fell  to  yawning;  and  he  carried  into  money  relations,  where 
it  is  certainly  out  of  place,  a  facility  that  bordered  upon 
slackness.  True,  since  we  had  no  longer  the  exactions  of  the 
master  to  contend  against  there  was  the  less  occasion  to  raise 
strictness  into  principle  or  do  battle  for  a  farthing.  True 
again,  there  was  nothing  excessive  in  these  relaxations,  or  I 
would  have  been  no  party  to  them.  But  the  whole  thing 
marked  a  change,  very  slight  yet  very  perceptible;  and 

117 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

though  no  man  could  say  my  master  had  gone  at  all  out  of 
his  mind,  no  man  could  deny  that  he  had  drifted  from  his 
character.  It  was  the  same  to  the  end,  with  his  manner  and 
appearance.  Some  of  the  heat  of  the  fever  lingered  in  his 
veins :  his  movements  a  little  hurried,  his  speech  notably  more 
voluble,  yet  neither  truly  amiss.  His  whole  mind  stood  open 
to  happy  impressions,  welcoming  these  and  making  much  of 
them;  but  the  smallest  suggestion  of  trouble  or  sorrow  he 
received  with  visible  impatience  and  dismissed  again  with 
immediate  relief.  It  was  to  this  temper  that  he  owed  the 
felicity  of  his  later  days ;  and  yet  here  it  was,  if  anywhere, 
that  you  could  call  the  man  insane.  A  great  part  of  this  life 
consists  in  contemplating  what  we  cannot  cure;  but  Mr. 
Henry,  if  he  could  not  dismiss  solicitude  by  an  effort  of  the 
mind,  must  instantly  and  at  whatever  cost  annihilate  the 
cause  of  it;  so  that  he  played  alternately  the  ostrich  and 
the  bull.  It  is  to  this  strenuous  cowardice  of  pain  that  I  have 
to  set  down  all  the  unfortunate  and  excessive  steps  of  his 
subsequent  career.  Certainly  this  was  the  reason  of  his 
beating  McManus,  the  groom,  a  thing  so  much  out  of  all 
his  former  practice  and  which  awakened  so  much  comment  at 
the  time.  It  is  to  this  again  that  I  must  lay  the  total  loss  of 
near  upon  two  hundred  pounds,  more  than  the  half  of  which 
I  could  have  saved,  if  his  impatience  would  have  suffered  me. 
But  he  preferred  loss  or  any  desperate  extreme  to  a  con- 
tinuance of  mental  suffering. 

All  this  has  led  me  far  from  our  immediate  trouble — 
whether  he  remembered  or  had  forgotten  his  late  dreadful 
act,  and  if  he  remembered,  in  what  light  he  viewed  it.  The 
truth  burst  upon  us  suddenly,  and  was  indeed  one  of  the  chief 
surprises  of  my  life.  He  had  been  several  times  abroad,  and 
was  now  beginning  to  walk  a  little  with  an  arm,  when  it 
chanced  I  should  be  left  alone  with  him  upon  the  terrace. 
He  turned  to  me  with  a  singular  furtive  smile,  such  as  school- 
boys use  when  in  fault,  and  says  he,  in  a  private  whisper  and 
without  the  least  preface: 

"Where  have  you  buried  him?" 

I  could  not  make  one  sound  in  answer. 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Where  have  you  buried  him  ?  "  he  repeated.  "  I  want  to 
see  his  grave." 

I  conceived  I  had  best  take  the  bull  by  the  horns.  "  Mr. 
Henry,"  said  I,  "  I  have  news  to  give  that  will  rejoice  you 
exceedingly.  In  all  human  likelihood  your  hands  are  clear 
of  blood.  I  reason  from  certain  indices,  and  by  these  it 
should  appear  your  brother  was  not  dead,  but  was  carried  in 
a  swound  on  board  the  lugger.  By  now  he  may  be  perfectly 
recovered." 

What  there  was  in  his  countenance  I  could  not  read. 
"  James  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Your  brother  James,"  I  answered.  "  I  would  not  raise 
a  hope  that  may  be  found  deceptive,  but  in  my  heart  I  think 
it  very  probable  he  is  alive." 

"  Ah ! "  says  Mr.  Henry,  and  suddenly  rising  from  his 
seat  with  more  alacrity  than  he  had  yet  discovered,  set  one 
finger  on  my  breast  and  cried  at  me  in  a  kind  of  screaming 
whisper,  "  Mackellar  " — these  were  his  words — "  nothing  can 
kill  that  man.  He  is  not  mortal.  He  is  bound  upon  my  back 
to  all  eternity — to  all  God's  eternity !  "  says  he,  and  sitting 
down  again,  fell  upon  a  stubborn  silence. 

A  day  or  two  after,  with  the  same  secret  smile,  and  first 
looking  about  as  if  to  be  sure  we  were  alone,  "  Mackellar," 
said  he,  '*  when  you  have  any  intelligence  be  sure  and  let  me 
know.  We  must  keep  an  eye  upon  him  or  he  will  take  us  when 
we  least  expect." 

"  He  will  not  show  face  here  again,"  said  I. 

"  Oh,  yes,  he  will,"  said  Mr.  Henry.  "  Wherever  I  am 
there  will  he  be."  And  again  he  looked  all  about  him. 

"  You  must  not  dwell  upon  this  thought,  Mr.  Henry," 
said  I. 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  that  is  very  good  advice.  We  will  never 
think  of  it  except  when  you  have  news.  And  we  do  not  know 
yet,"  he  added ;  "  he  may  be  dead." 

The  manner  of  his  saying  this  convinced  me  thoroughly 
of  what  I  had  scarce  ventured  to  suspect — that  so  far  from 
suffering  any  penitence  for  the  attempt  he  did  but  lament  his 
failure.  This  was  a  discovery  I  kept  to  myself,  fearing  it 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

might  do  him  a  prejudice  with  his  wife.  But  I  might  have 
saved  myself  the  trouble ;  she  had  divined  it  for  herself,  and 
found  the  sentiment  quite  natural.  Indeed,  I  could  not  but 
say  that  there  were  three  of  us  all  of  the  same  mind,  nor 
could  any  news  have  reached  Durrisdeer  more  generally  wel- 
come than  tidings  of  the  Master's  death. 

This  brings  me  to  speak  of  the  exception,  my  old  lord.  As 
soon  as  my  anxiety  for  my  old  master  began  to  be  relaxed  I 
was  aware  of  a  change  in  the  old  gentleman,  his  father,  that 
seemed  to  threaten  mortal  consequences. 

His  face  was  pale  and  swollen  ;  as  he  sat  in  the  chimney-side 
with  his  Latin  he  would  drop  off  sleeping  and  the  book  roll 
in  the  ashes ;  some  days  he  would  drag  his  foot,  others  stumble 
in  speaking.  The  amenity  of  his  behavior  appeared  more  ex- 
treme; full  of  excuses  for  the  least  trouble,  very  thoughtful 
for  all ;  to  myself  of  a  most  flattering  civility.  One  day  that 
he  had  sent  for  his  lawyer  and  remained  a  long  while  private 
he  met  me  as  he  was  crossing  the  hall  with  painful  footsteps 
and  took  me  kindly  by  the  hand.  "  Mr.  Mackellar,"  said  he, 
"  I  have  had  many  occasions  to  set  a  proper  value  on  your 
services,  and  to-day  when  I  recast  my  will  I  have  taken  the 
freedom  to  name  you  for  one  of  my  executors.  I  believe 
you  bear  love  enough  to  our  house  to  render  me  this  service." 
At  that  very  time  he  passed  the  greater  portion  of  his  days 
in  slumber,  from  which  it  was  often  difficult  to  rouse  him; 
seemed  to  have  lost  all  count  of  years,  and  had  several  times 
(particularly  on  waking)  called  for  his  wife  and  for  an  old 
servant  whose  very  gravestone  was  now  green  with  moss.  If 
I  had  been  put  to  my  oath  I  must  have  declared  he  was  in- 
capable of  testing,  and  yet  there  was  never  a  will  drawn  more 
sensible  in  every  trait,  or  showing  a  more  excellent  judgment 
both  of  persons  and  affairs. 

His  dissolution,  though  it  took  not  very  long,  proceeded 
by  infinitesimal  gradations.  His  faculties  decayed  together 
steadily ;  the  power  of  his  limbs  was  almost  gone,  he  was  ex- 
tremely deaf,  his  speech  had  sunk  into  mere  mumblings;  and 
yet  to  the  end  he  managed  to  discover  something  of  his  for- 
mer courtesy  and  kindness,  pressing  the  hand  of  any  that 

120 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

helped  him,  presenting  me  with  one  of  his  Latin  books  in 
which  he  had  laboriously  traced  my  name,  and  in  a  thousand 
ways  reminding  us  of  the  greatness  of  that  loss,  which  it 
might  almost  be  said  we  had  already  suffered.  To  the  end, 
the  power  of  articulation  returned  to  him  in  flashes ;  it  seemed 
he  had  only  forgotten  the  art  of  speech  as  a  child  forgets  his 
lesson,  and  at  times  he  would  call  some  part  of  it  to  mind. 
On  the  last  night  of  his  life,  he  suddenly  broke  silence  with 
these  words  from  Virgil :  "  Gnatique  pratisque,  alma,  precor, 
miserere"  perfectly  uttered  and  with  a  fitting  accent.  At 
the  sudden  clear  sound  of  it,  we  started  from  our  several  occu- 
pations ;  but  it  was  in  vain  we  turned  to  him ;  he  sat  there 
silent  and  to  all  appearances  fatuous.  A  little  later,  he  was 
had  to  bed  with  more  difficulty  than  ever  before;  and  some 
time  in  the  night,  without  any  mortal  violence,  his  spirit  fled. 

At  a  far  later  period  I  chanced  to  speak  of  these  particu- 
lars with  a  doctor  of  medicine,  a  man  of  so  high  a  reputation 
that  I  scruple  to  adduce  his  name.  By  his  view  of  it,  father 
and  son  both  suffered  from  the  same  affection ;  the  father 
from  the  strain  of  his  unnatural  sorrows,  the  son  perhaps  in 
the  excitation  of  the  fever,  each  had  ruptured  a  vessel  on  the 
brain;  and  there  was  probably  (my  doctor  added)  some  pre- 
disposition in  the  family  to  accidents  of  that  description. 
The  father  sunk,  the  son  recovered  all  the  externals  of  a 
healthy  man ;  but  it  is  like  there  was  some  destruction  in  those 
delicate  tissues  where  the  soul  resides  and  does  her  earthly 
business ;  her  heavenly,  I  would  fain  hope,  cannot  be  thus 
obstructed  by  material  accidents.  And  yet  upon  a  more 
mature  opinion,  it  matters  not  one  jot ;  for  He  who  shall  pass 
judgment  on  the  records  of  our  life  is  the  same  that  formed 
us  in  frailty.  t 

The  death  of  my  old  lord  was  the  occasion  of  a  fresh  sur- 
prise to  us  who  watched  the  behavior  of  his  successor.  To 
any  considering  mind  the  two  sons  had  between  them  slain 
their  father ;  and  he  who  took  the  sword  might  be  even  said  to 
have  slain  him  with  his  hand.  But  no  such  thought  appeared 
to  trouble  my  new  lord.  He  was  becomingly  grave ;  I  could 
scarce  say  sorrowful,  or  only  with  a  pleasant  sorrow ;  talking 

121 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

of  the  dead  with  a  regretful  cheerfulness,  relating  old  ex 
amples  of  his  character,  smiling  at  them  with  a  good  con- 
science; and  when  the  day  of  the  funeral  came  round  doing 
the  honors  with  exact  propriety.  I  could  perceive,  besides, 
that  he  found  a  solid  gratification  in  his  accession  to  the  title ; 
the  which  he  was  punctilious  in  exacting. 

And  now  there  came  upon  the  scene  a  new  character,  and 
one  that  played  his  part  too  in  the  story ;  I  mean  the  present 
lord,  Alexander,  whose  birth  (17th  July,  1757)  filled  the  cup 
of  my  poor  master's  happiness.  There  was  nothing  then  left 
him  to  wish  for ;  nor  yet  leisure  to  wish  for  it.  Indeed,  there 
never  was  a  parent  so  fond  and  doting  as  he  showed  himself. 
He  was  continually  uneasy  in  his  son's  absence.  Was  the 
child  abroad  ?  the  father  would  be  watching  the  clouds  in  case 
it  rained.  Was  it  night?  he  would  rise  out  of  his  bed  to 
observe  its  slumbers.  His  conversation  grew  even  wearyful 
to  strangers,  since  he  talked  of  little  but  his  son.  In  matters 
relating  to  the  estate  all  was  designed  with  a  particular  eye 
to  Alexander ;  and  it  would  be :  "  Let  us  put  it  in  hand  at 
once,  that  the  wood  may  be  grown  against  Alexander's 
majority; "  or  "  this  will  fall  in  again  handsomely  for  Alex- 
ander's marriage."  Every  day  this  absorption  of  the  man's 
nature  became  more  observable,  with  many  touching  and 
some  very  blameworthy  particulars.  Soon  the  child  could 
walk  abroad  with  him,  at  first  on  the  terrace  hand  in  hand, 
and  afterward  at  large  about  the  policies;  and  this  grew  to 
be  my  lord's  chief  occupation.  The  sound  of  their  two  voices 
(audible  a  great  way  off,  for  they  spoke  loud)  became  famil- 
iar in  the  neighborhood;  and  for  my  part  I  found  it  more 
agreeable  than  the  sound  of  birds.  It  was  pretty  to  see  the 
pair  returning,  full  of  briers,  and  the  father  as  flushed  and 
sometimes  as  bemuddied  as  the  child;  for  they  were  equal 
sharers  in  all  sorts  of  boyish  entertainment,  digging  in  the 
beach,  damming  of  streams,  and  what  not;  and  I  have  seen 
them  gaze  through  a  fence  at  cattle  with  the  same  childish 
contemplation. 

The  mention  of  these  rambles  brings  me  to  a  strange  scene 

122 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

of  which  I  was  a  witness.  There  was  one  walk  I  never  fol- 
lowed myself  without  emotion,  so  often  had  I  gone  there  upon 
miserable  errands,  so  much  had  there  befallen  against  the 
house  of  Durrisdeer.  But  the  path  lay  handy  from  all  points 
beyond  the  Muckle  Ross ;  and  I  was  driven,  although  much 
against  my  will,  to  take  my  use  of  it  perhaps  once  in  the  two 
months.  It  befell  when  Mr.  Alexander  was  of  the  age  of 
seven  or  eight,  I  had  some  business  on  the  far  side  in  the 
morning,  and  entered  the  shrubbery  on  my  homeward  way, 
about  nine  of  a  bright  forenoon.  It  was  that  time  of  year 
when  the  woods  are  all  in  their  spring  colors,  the  thorns  all 
in  flower,  and  the  birds  in  the  high  season  of  their  singing. 
In  contrast  to  this  merriment,  the  shrubbery  was  only  the 
more  sad  and  I  the  more  oppressed  by  its  associations.  In 
this  situation  of  spirit,  it  struck  me  disagreeably  to  hear 
voices  a  little  way  in  front,  and  to  recognize  the  tones  of  my 
lord  and  Mr.  Alexander.  I  pushed  ahead,  and  came  presently 
into  their  view.  They  stood  together  in  the  open  space  where 
the  duel  was,  my  lord  with  his  hand  on  his  son's  shoulder  and 
speaking  with  some  gravity.  At  least,  as  he  raised  his  head 
upon  my  coming,  I  thought  I  could  perceive  his  countenance 
to  lighten. 

"  Ah,"  says  he,  "  here  comes  the  good  Mackellar.  I  have 
just  been  telling  Sandie  the  story  of  this  place,  and  how  there 
was  a  man  whom  the  devil  tried  to  kill,  and  how  near  he  came 
to  kill  the  devil  instead." 

I  had  thought  it  strange  enough  he  should  bring  the  child 
into  that  scene ;  that  he  should  actually  be  discoursing  of  his 
act,  passed  measure.  But  the  worst  was  yet  to  come ;  for  he 
added,  turning  to  his  son :  "  You  can  ask  Mackellar ;  he  was 
here  and  saw  it." 

"  Is  it  true,  Mr.  Mackellar  ?  "  asked  the  child.  "  And  did 
you  really  see  the  devil?  " 

"  I  have  not  heard  the  tale,"  I  replied ;  "  and  I  am  in  a 
press  of  business."  So  far  I  said  a  little  sourly,  fencing  with 
the  embarrassment  of  the  position ;  and  suddenly  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  past  and  the  terror  of  that  scene  by  candle-light 
rushed  in  upon  my  mind;  I  bethought  me  that,  for  a  differ- 

123 


ence  of  a  second's  quickness  in  parade,  the  child  before  me 
might  have  never  seen  the  day ;  and  the  emotion  that  always 
fluttered  round  my  heart  in  that  dark  shrubbery  burst  forth 
in  words.  "  But  so  much  is  true,"  I  cried,  "  that  I  have  met 
the  devil  in  these  woods  and  seen  him  foiled  here;  blessed  be 
God  that  we  escaped  with  life — blessed  be  God  that  one  stone 
yet  stands  upon  another  in  the  walls  of  Durrisdeer ;  and  oh, 
Mr.  Alexander,  if  ever  you  come  by  this  spot,  though  it  was 
a  hundred  years  hence  and  you  came  with  the  gayest  and  the 
highest  in  the  land,  I  would  step  aside  and  remember  a  bit 
prayer." 

My  lord  bowed  his  head  gravely.  "  Ah,"  says  he,  "  Mac- 
kellar  is  always  in  the  right.  Come,  Alexander,  take  your 
bonnet  off."  And  with  that  he  uncovered  and  held  out  his 
hand.  "  Oh,  Lord,"  said  he,  "  I  thank  thee,  and  my  son 
thanks  thee,  for  thy  manifold  great  mercies.  Let  us  have 
peace  for  a  little ;  defend  us  from  the  evil  man.  Smite  him, 
oh,  Lord,  upon  the  lying  mouth ! "  The  last  broke  out  of 
him  like  a  cry ;  and  at  that,  whether  remembered  anger  choked 
his  utterance,  or  whether  he  perceived  this  was  a  singular 
sort  of  prayer,  at  least  he  came  suddenly  to  a  full  stop ;  and 
after  a  moment  set  back  his  hat  upon  his  head. 

"  I  think  you  have  forgot  a  word,  my  lord,"  said  I. 
"  '  Forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  them  that  tres- 
pass against  us.  For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power, 
and  the  glory,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.' ' 

"  Ah,  that  is  easy  saying,"  said  my  lord.  "  That  is  very 
easy  saying,  Mackellar.  But  for  me  to  forgive?  I  think  I 
would  cut  a  very  silly  figure,  if  I  had  the  affectation  to 
pretend  it." 

"  The  bairn,  my  lord,"  said  I,  with  some  severity,  for  I 
thought  his  expressions  little  fitted  for  the  ears  of  children. 

"  Why,  very  true,"  said  he.  "  This  is  dull  work  for  a 
bairn.  Let's  go  nesting." 

I  forget  if  it  was  the  same  day,  but  it  was  soon  after,  my 
lord,  finding  me  alone,  opened  himself  a  little  more  on  the 
same  head. 

"  Mackellar,"  he  said,  "  I  am  now  a  very  happy  man." 

124 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  I  think  so  indeed,  my  lord,"  said  I,  "  and  the  sight  of  it 
gives  me  a  light  heart." 

"  There  is  an  obligation  in  happiness,  do  you  not  think 
BO  ?  "  says  he  musingly. 

"  I  think  so  indeed,"  says  I,  "  and  one  in  sorrow  too.  If 
we  are  not  here  to  try  to  do  the  best,  in  my  humble  opinion, 
the  sooner  we  are  away  the  better  for  all  parties." 

"  Ay,  but  if  you  were  in  my  shoes,  would  you  forgive 
him  ?  "  asks  my  lord. 

The  suddenness  of  the  attack  a  little  graveled  me.  "  It  is 
a  duty  laid  upon  us  strictly,"  said  I. 

"  Hut !  "  said  he.  "  These  are  expressions !  Do  you  for- 
give the  man  yourself?  " 

"  Well— no !  "  said  I.    "  God  forgive  me,  I  do  not." 

"  Shake  hands  upon  that ! "  cries  my  lord,  with  a  kind  of 
joviality. 

"  It  is  an  ill  sentiment  to  shake  hands  upon,"  said  I,  "  for 
Christian  people.  I  think  I  will  give  you  mine  on  some  more 
evangelical  occasion." 

This  I  said,  smiling  a  little;  but  as  for  my  lord,  he  went 
from  the  room  laughing  aloud. 

For  my  lord's  slavery  to  the  child,  I  can  find  no  expression 
adequate.  He  lost  himself  in  that  continual  thought;  busi- 
ness, friends,  and  wife  being  all  alike  forgotten  or  only  re- 
membered with  a  painful  effort,  like  that  of  one  struggling 
with  a  posset.  It  was  most  notable  in  the  matter  of  his  wife. 
Since  I  had  known  Durrisdeer  she  had  been  the  burden  of  his 
thought  and  the  loadstone  of  his  eyes ;  and  now,  she  was  quite 
cast  out.  I  have  seen  him  come  to  the  door  of  a  room,  look 
round,  and  pass  my  lady  over  as  though  she  were  a  dog  before 
the  fire ;  it  would  be  Alexander  he  was  seeking,  and  my  lady 
knew  it  well.  I  have  heard  him  speak  to  her  so  ruggedly  that 
I  nearly  found  it  in  my  heart  to  intervene;  the  cause  would 
still  be  the  same,  that  she  had  in  some  way  thwarted  Alex- 
ander. Without  doubt  this  was  in  the  nature  of  a  judgment 
on  my  lady.  Without  doubt  she  had  the  tables  turned  upon 
her  as  only  Providence  can  do  it;  she  who  had  been  cold  so 

125 


many  years  to  every  mark  of  tenderness,  it  was  her  part  now 
to  be  neglected;  the  more  praise  to  her  that  she  played  it 
well. 

An  odd  situation  resulted:  that  we  had  once  more  two 
parties  in  the  house,  and  that  now  I  was  of  my  lady's.  Not 
that  ever  I  lost  the  love  I  bore  my  master.  But  for  one  thing, 
he  had  the  less  use  for  my  society.  For  another,  I  could  not 
but  compare  the  case  of  Mr.  Alexander  with  that  of  Miss 
Katharine ;  for  whom  my  lord  had  never  found  the  least  at- 
tention. And  for  a  third,  I  was  wounded  by  the  change  he 
discovered  to  his  wife,  which  struck  me  in  the  nature  of  an 
infidelity.  I  could  not  but  admire  besides  the  constancy  and 
kindness  she  displayed.  Perhaps  her  sentiment  to  my  lord, 
as  it  had  been  founded  from  the  first  in  pity,  was  that  rather 
of  a  mother  than  a  wife ;  perhaps  it  pleased  her  (if  I  may  so 
say)  to  behold  her  two  children  so  happy  in  each  other;  the 
more  as  one  had  suffered  so  unjustly  in  the  past.  But  for  all 
that,  and  though  I  could  never  trace  in  her  one  spark  of 
jealousy,  she  must  fall  back  for  society  on  poor,  neglected 
Miss  Katharine;  and  I,  on  my  part,  came  to  pass  my  spare 
hours  more  and  more  with  the  mother  and  daughter.  It 
would  be  easy  to  make  too  much  of  this  division,  for  it  was  a 
pleasant  family  as  families  go ;  still  the  thing  existed ;  whether 
my  lord  knew  it  or  not,  I  am  in  doubt.  I  do  not  think  he  did, 
he  was  bound  up  so  entirely  in  his  son ;  but  the  rest  of  us 
knew  it  and  (in  a  manner)  suffered  from  the  knowledge. 

What  troubled  us  most,  however,  was  the  great  and  grow- 
ing danger  to  the  child.  My  lord  was  his  father  over  again ; 
it  was  to  be  feared  the  son  would  prove  a  second  Master. 
Time  has  proved  these  fears  to  have  been  quite  exaggerate. 
Certainly  there  is  no  more  worthy  gentleman  to-day  in  Scot- 
land than  the  seventh  Lord  Durrisdeer.  Of  my  own  exodus 
from  his  employment,  it  does  not  become  me  to  speak,  above 
all  in  a  memorandum  written  only  to  justify  his  father.*  .  .  . 

*[EIHTOH'S  NOTE. — Five  pages  of  Mr.  Mackellar's  MS.  are  here  omitted. 
I  have  gathered  from  their  perusal  an  impression  that  Mr.  Mackellar, 
in  his  old  age,  was  rather  an  exacting  servant.  Against  the  seventh 
Lord  Durrisdeer  (with  whom,  at  any  rate,  we  have  no  concern)  nothing 
material  is  alleged.— R.  L.  S.] 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLATsTTRAE 

But  our  fear  at  the  time  was  lest  he  should  turn  out,  in  the 
person  of  his  son,  a  second  edition  of  his  brother.  My  lady 
had  tried  to  interject  some  wholesome  discipline;  she  had 
been  glad  to  give  that  up,  and  now  looked  on  with  secret 
dismay ;  sometimes  she  even  spoke  of  it  by  hints ;  and  some- 
times when  there  was  brought  to  her  knowledge  some  mon- 
strous instance  of  my  lord's  indulgence  she  would  betray 
herself  in  a  gesture  or  perhaps  an  exclamation.  As  for  my- 
self, I  was  haunted  by  the  thought  both  day  and  night ;  not 
so  much  for  the  child's  sake  as  for  the  father's.  The  man 
had  gone  to  sleep,  he  was  dreaming  a  dream,  and  any  rough 
wakening  must  infallibly  prove  mortal.  That  he  should  sur- 
vive its  death  was  inconceivable ;  and  the  fear  of  its  dishonor 
made  me  cover  my  face. 

It  was  this  continual  preoccupation  that  screwed  me  up  at 
last  to  a  remonstrance;  a  matter  worthy  to  be  narrated  in 
detail.  My  lord  and  I  sat  one  day  at  the  same  table  upon 
some  tedious  business  of  detail ;  I  have  said  that  he  had  lost 
his  former  interest  in  such  occupations ;  he  was  plainly  itch- 
ing to  be  gone,  and  he  looked  fretful,  weary,  and,  methought, 
older  than  I  had  ever  previously  observed.  I  suppose  it 
was  the  haggard  face  that  put  me  suddenly  upon  my  en- 
terprise. 

"  My  lord,"  said  I,  with  my  head  down,  and  feigning  to 
continue  my  occupation — "  or  rather  let  me  call  you  again 
by  the  name  of  Mr.  Henry,  for  I  fear  your  anger  and  want 
you  to  think  upon  old  times 

"  My  good  Mackellar !  "  said  he ;  and  that  in  tones  so 
kindly  that  I  had  near  forsook  my  purpose.  But  I  called  to 
mind  that  I  was  speaking  for  his  good,  and  stuck  to  my 
colors. 

"  Has  it  never  come  in  upon  your  mind  what  you  are 
doing?  "  I  asked. 

"  What  I  am  doing?  "  he  repeated.  "  I  was  never  good  at 
guessing  riddles." 

"  What  you  are  doing  with  your  son,"  said  I. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  with  some  defiance  in  his  tone,  "  and  what 
am  I  doing  with  my  son?  " 

127 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  You  father  was  a  very  good  man,"  says  I,  straying  from 
the  direct  path.  "  But  do  you  think  he  was  a  wise  father?  " 

There  was  a  pause  before  he  spoke,  and  then :  "  I  say 
nothing  against  him,"  he  replied.  "  I  had  the  most  cause 
perhaps ;  but  I  say  nothing." 

"  Why,  there  it  is,"  said  I.  "  You  had  the  cause  at  least. 
And  yet  your  father  was  a  good  man ;  I  never  knew  a  better, 
save  on  the  one  point,  nor  yet  a  wiser.  Where  he  stumbled, 
it  is  highly  possible  another  man  should  fall.  He  had  the 
two  sons " 

My  lord  rapped  suddenly  and  violently  on  the  table. 

"  What  is  this?  "  cried  he.    "  Speak  out !  " 

"  I  will,  then,"  said  I,  my  voice  almost  strangled  with  the 
thumping  of  my  heart.  "  If  you  continue  to  indulge  Mr. 
Alexander,  you  are  following  in  your  father's  footsteps: 
Beware,  my  lord,  lest  (when  he  grows  up)  your  son  should 
follow  in  the  Master's." 

I  had  never  meant  to  put  the  thing  so  crudely ;  but  in  the 
extreme  of  fear,  there  comes  a  brutal  kind  of  courage,  the 
most  brutal  indeed  of  all ;  and  I  burned  my  ships  with  that 
plain  word.  I  never  had  the  answer.  When  I  lifted  my  head, 
my  lord  had  risen  to  his  feet,  and  the  next  moment  he  fell 
heavily  on  the  floor.  The  fit  or  seizure  endured  not  very 
long ;  he  came  to  himself  vacantly,  put  his  hand  to  his  head 
which  I  was  then  supporting,  and  says  he,  in  a  broken  voice : 
"I  have  been  ill,"  and  a  little  after:  "Help  me!"  I  got 
him  to  his  feet,  and  he  stood  pretty  well,  though  he  kept  hold 
of  the  table.  "  I  have  been  ill,  Mackellar,"  he  said  again. 
"  Something  broke,  Mackellar — or  was  going  to  break,  and 
then  all  swam  away.  I  think  I  was  very  angry.  Never  you 
mind,  Mackellar,  never  you  mind,  my  man.  I  wouldnae  hurt 
a  hair  upon  your  head.  Too  much  has  come  and  gone.  It's 
a  certain  thing  between  us  two.  But  I  think,  Mackellar,  I 
will  go  to  Mrs.  Henry — I  think  I  will  go  to  Mrs.  Henry," 
said  he,  and  got  pretty  steadily  from  the  room,  leaving  me 
overcome  with  penitence. 

Presently  the  door  flew  open,  and  my  lady  swept  in  with 
flashing  eyes.  "  What  is  all  this?  "  she  cried.  "  What  have 

128 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

you  done  to  my  husband?  Will  nothing  teach  you  your  posi- 
tion in  this  house?  Will  you  never  cease  from  making  and 
meddling  ?  " 

"  My  lady,"  said  I,  "  since  I  have  been  in  this  house,  I  have 
had  plenty  of  hard  words.  For  awhile  they  were  my  daily 
diet,  and  I  swallowed  them  all.  As  for  to-day,  you  may  call 
me  what  you  please ;  you  will  never  find  the  name  hard  enough 
for  such  a  blunder.  And  yet  I  meant  it  for  the  best." 

I  told  her  all  with  ingenuity,  even  as  it  is  written  here ;  and 
when  she  had  heard  me  out,  she  pondered,  and  I  could  see  her 
animosity  fall.  "  Yes,"  she  said,  "  you  meant  well  indeed.  I 
have  had  the  same  thought  myself,  or  the  same  temptation 
rather,  which  makes  me  pardon  you.  But,  dear  God,  can  you 
not  understand  that  he  can  bear  no  more?  He  can  bear  no 
more ! "  she  cried.  "  The  cord  is  stretched  to  snapping. 
What  matters  the  future,  if  he  have  one  or  two  good  days?  " 

"  Amen,"  said  I.  "  I  will  meddle  no  more.  I  am  pleased 
enough  that  you  should  recognize  the  kindness  of  my 
meaning." 

"  Yes,"  said  my  lady,  "  but  when  it  came  to  the  point,  I 
have  to  suppose  your  courage  failed  you ;  for  what  you  said 
was  said  cruelly."  She  paused,  looking  at  me ;  then  suddenly 
smiled  a  little,  and  said  a  singular  thing :  "  Do  you  know 
what  you  are,  Mr.  Mackellar  ?  You  are  an  old  maid." 

No  more  incident  of  any  note  occurred  in  the  family  until 
the  return  of  that  ill-starred  man,  the  Master.  But  I  have  to 
place  here  a  second  extract  from  the  memoirs  of  Chevalier 
Burke,  interesting  in  itself  and  highly  necessary  for  my  pur- 
pose. It  is  our  only  sight  of  the  master  on  his  Indian  travels  ; 
and  the  first  word  in  these  pages  of  Secundra  Dass.  One 
fact,  it  is  to  observe,  appears  here  very  clearly,  which  if  we 
had  known  some  twenty  years  ago,  how  many  calamities 
and  sorrows  had  been  spared! — that  Secundra  Dass  spoke 
English. 


129 


ADVENTURE   OF   CHEVALIER  BURKE  IN  INDIA 

(Extracted  from  his  Memoirs) 

HERE  was  I,  therefore,  on  the  streets  of  that  city,  the 
name  of  which  I  cannot  call  to  mind,  while  even  then 
I  was  so  ill  acquainted  with  its  situation  that  I  knew  not 
whether  to  go  south  or  north.  The  alert  being  sudden,  I  had 
run  forth  without  shoes  or  stockings ;  my  hat  had  been  struck 
from  my  head  in  the  mellay ;  my  kit  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
English;  I  had  no  companion  but  the  cipaye,  no  weapon  but 
my  sword,  and  the  devil  a  coin  in  my  pocket.  In  short  I  was 
for  all  the  world  like  one  of  those  calendars  with  whom  Mr. 
Galland  has  made  us  acquainted  in  his  elegant  tales.  These 
gentlemen,  you  will  remember,  were  forever  falling  in  with 
extraordinary  incidents ;  and  I  was  myself  upon  the  brink  of 
one  so  astonishing  that  I  protest  I  cannot  explain  it  to  this 
day. 

The  cipaye  was  a  very  honest  man,  he  had  served  many 
years  with  the  French  colors,  and  would  have  let  himself  be 
cut  to  pieces  for  any  of  the  brave  countrymen  of  Mr.  Lally. 
It  is  the  same  fellow  (his  name  has  quite  escaped  me)  of  whom 
I  have  narrated  already  a  surprising  instance  of  generosity 
of  mind:  when  he  found  Mr.  de  Fessac  and  myself  upon  the 
ramparts,  entirely  overcome  with  liquor,  and  covered  us  with 
straw  while  the  commandant  was  passing  by.  I  consulted  him 
therefore  with  perfect  freedom.  It  was  a  fine  question  what 
to  do ;  but  we  decided  at  last  to  escalade  a  garden  wall,  where 
we  could  certainly  sleep  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees,  and  might 
perhaps  find  an  occasion  to  get  hold  of  a  pair  of  slippers  and 
a  turban.  In  that  part  of  the  city  we  had  only  the  difficulty 
of  the  choice,  for  it  was  a  quarter  consisting  entirely  of 
walled  gardens,  and  the  lanes  which  divided  them  were  at  that 
hour  of  the  night  deserted.  I  gave  the  cipaye  a  back,  and  we 
had  goon  dropped  into  a  large  enclosure  full  of  trees.  The 

130 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

place  was  soaking  with  the  dew  which,  in  that  country,  is 
exceedingly  unwholesome,  above  all  to  whites ;  yet  my  fatigue 
was  so  extreme  that  I  was  already  half  asleep,  when  the 
cipaye  recalled  me  to  my  senses.  In  the  far  end  of  the  in- 
closure  a  bright  light  had  suddenly  shone  out,  and  continued 
to  burn  steadily  among  the  leaves.  It  was  a  circumstance 
highly  unusual  in  such  a  place  and  hour ;  and  in  our  situation 
it  behooved  us  to  proceed  with  some  timidity.  The  cipaye 
was  sent  to  reconnoiter,  and  pretty  soon  returned  with  the 
intelligence  that  we  had  fallen  extremely  amiss,  for  the  house 
belonged  to  a  white  man,  who  was  in  all  likelihood  English. 

"  Faith,"  says  I,  "  if  there's  a  white  man  to  be  seen,  I  will 
have  a  look  at  him ;  for  the  Lord  be  praised !  there  are  more 
sorts  than  the  one !  " 

The  cipaye  led  me  forward  accordingly  to  a  place  from 
which  I  had  a  clear  view  upon  the  house.  It  was  surrounded 
with  a  wide  veranda;  a  lamp,  very  well  trimmed,  stood  upon 
the  floor  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  lamp  there  sat  a  man, 
cross-legged  after  the  Oriental  manner.  Both,  besides,  were 
bundled  up  in  muslin  like  two  natives ;  and  yet  one  of  them 
was  not  only  a  white  man,  but  a  man  very  well  known  to  me 
and  the  reader :  being  indeed  that  very  master  of  Ballantrae 
of  whose  gallantry  and  genius  I  have  had  to  speak  so  often. 
Word  had  reached  me  that  he  was  come  to  the  Indies ;  though 
we  had  never  met  at  least,  and  I  heard  little  of  his  occupa- 
tions. But  sure,  I  had  no  sooner  recognized  him,  and  found 
myself  in  the  arms  of  so  old  a  comrade,  than  I  supposed  my 
tribulations  were  quite  done.  I  stepped  plainly  forth  into 
the  light  of  the  moon,  which  shone  exceeding  strong,  and 
hailing  Ballantrae  by  name,  made  him  in  a  few  words  master 
of  my  grievous  situation.  He  turned,  started  the  least  thing 
in  the  world,  looked  me  fair  in  the  face  while  I  was  speaking, 
and  when  I  had  done,  addressed  himself  to  his  companion  in 
the  barbarous  native  dialect.  The  second  person,  who  was 
of  an  extraordinary  delicate  appearance,  with  legs  like  walk- 
ing-canes and  fingers  like  the  stalk  of  a  tobacco  pipe  *  now 
rose  to  his  feet. 

'Note  by  Mr.  Mackellar.— Plainly  Secundra  Dass.— E.  McK. 
131 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  The  sahib,"  says  he,  "  understands  no  English  language. 
I  understand  it  myself,  and  I  see  you  make  some  small  mis- 
take— oh,  which  may  happen  very  often!  But  the  sahib 
would  be  glad  to  know  how  you  come  in  a  garden." 

"  Ballantrae ! "  I  cried.  "  Have  you  the  damned  impu- 
dence to  deny  me  to  my  face?  " 

Ballantrae  never  moved  a  muscle,  staring  at  me  like  an 
image  in  a  pagoda. 

"  The  sahib  understands  no  English  language,"  says  the 
native,  as  glib  as  before.  "  He  be  glad  to  know  how  you  come 
in  a  garden." 

"  Oh,  the  divil  fetch  him !  "  says  I.  "  He  would  be  glad 
to  know  how  I  come  in  a  garden,  would  he?  Well  now,  my 
dear  man,  just  have  the  civility  to  tell  the  sahib,  with  my  kind 
love,  that  we  are  two  soldiers  here  whom  he  never  met  and 
never  heard  of,  but  the  cipaye  is  a  broth  of  a  boy,  and  I  am 
a  broth  of  a  boy  myself ;  and  if  we  don't  get  a  full  meal  of 
meat,  and  a  turban,  and  slippers,  and  the  value  of  a  gold 
mohur  in  small  change  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  my  friend, 
I  could  lay  my  finger  on  a  garden  where  there  is  going  to  be 
trouble." 

They  carried  their  comedy  so  far  as  to  converse  awhile 
in  Hindoostanee ;  and  then  says  the  Hindoo,  with  the  same 
smile,  but  sighing  as  if  he  were  tired  of  the  repetition :  "  The 
sahib  would  be  glad  to  know  how  you  come  in  a  garden." 

"  Is  that  the  way  of  it?  "  says  I,  and  laying  my  hand  on 
my  sword-hilt,  I  bade  the  cipaye  draw. 

Ballantrae's  Hindoo,  still  smiling,  pulled  out  a  pistol  from 
his  bosom,  and  though  Ballantrae  himself  never  moved  a 
muscle,  I  knew  him  well  enough  to  be  sure  he  was  prepared. 

"  The  sahib  thinks  you  better  go  away,"  says  the  Hindoo. 

Well,  to  be  plain,  it  was  what  I  was  thinking  myself;  for 
the  report  of  a  pistol  would  have  been,  under  Providence,  the 
means  of  hanging  the  pair  of  us. 

"  Tell  the  sahib,  I  consider  him  no  gentleman,"  says  I,  and 
turned  away  with  a  gesture  of  contempt. 

I  was  not  gone  three  steps  when  the  voice  of  the  Hindoo 
called  me  back.  "  The  sahib  would  be  glad  to  know  if  you 

132 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

are  a  damn  low  Irishman,"  says  he;  and  at  the  words  Bal- 
lantrae  smiled  and  bowed  very  low. 

"What  is  that?"  says  I. 

"  The  sahib  say  you  ask  your  friend  Mackellar,"  says  the 
Hindoo.  "  The  sahib  he  cry  quits." 

"  Tell  the  sahib  I  will  give  him  a  cure  for  the  Scots  fiddle 
when  next  we  meet,"  cried  I. 

The  pair  were  still  smiling  as  I  left. 

There  is  little  doubt  some  flaws  may  be  picked  in  my  own 
behavior;  and  when  a  man,  however  gallant,  appeals  to  pos- 
terity with  an  account  of  his  exploits,  he  must  almost  cer- 
tainly expect  to  share  the  fate  of  Caesar  arid  Alexander,  and 
to  meet  with  some  detractors.  But  there  is  one  thing  that 
can  never  be  laid  at  the  door  of  Francis  Burke:  he  never 
turned  his  back  on  a  friend.  .  .  . 

(Here  follows  a  passage  which  the  Chevalier  Burke  has 
been  at  the  pains  to  delete  before  sending  me  his  manuscript. 
Doubtless  it  was  some  very  natural  complaint  of  what  he  sup- 
posed to  be  an  indiscretion  on  my  part ;  though,  indeed,  I  can 
call  none  to  mind.  Perhaps  Mr.  Henry  was  less  guarded ;  or 
it  is  just  possible  the  Master  found  the  means  to  examine  my 
correspondence,  and  himself  read  the  letter  from  Troyes:  in 
revenge  for  which  this  cruel  jest  was  perpetrated  on  Mr. 
Burke  in  his  extreme  necessity.  The  master,  for  all  his 
wickedness,  was  not  without  some  natural  affection ;  I  believe 
he  was  sincerely  attached  to  Mr.  Burke  in  the  beginning ;  but 
the  thought  of  treachery  dried  up  the  springs  of  his  very 
shallow  friendship,  and  his  detestable  nature  appeared  naked. 
— E.  McK.) 


133 


THE  ENEMY  IN  THE  HOUSE 

IT  is  a  strange  thing  that  I  should  be  at  a  stick  for  a  date — • 
the  date,  besides,  of  an  incident  that  changed  the  very 
nature  of  my  life,  and  sent  us  all  into  foreign  lands.  But 
the  truth  is  I  was  stricken  out  of  all  ray  habitudes,  and  find 
my  journals  very  ill  redd-up,*  the  day  not  indicated  some- 
times for  a  week  or  two  together,  and  the  whole  fashion  of 
the  thing  like  that  of  a  man  near  desperate.  It  was  late  in 
March  at  least,  or  early  in  April,  1764.  I  had  slept  heavily 
and  wakened  with  a  premonition  of  some  evil  to  befall.  So 
strong  was  this  upon  my  spirit  that  I  hurried  downstairs  in 
my  shirt  and  breeches,  and  my  hand  (I  remember)  shook 
upon  the  rail.  It  was  a  cold,  sunny  morning  with  a  thick 
white  frost;  the  blackbirds  sung  exceeding  sweet  and  loud 
about  the  house  of  Durrisdeer,  and  there  was  a  noise  of  the 
sea  in  all  the  chambers.  As  I  came  by  the  door  of  the  hall 
another  sound  arrested  me,  of  voices  talking.  I  drew  nearer 
and  stood  like  a  man  dreaming.  Here  was  certainly  a  human 
voice,  and  that  in  my  own  master's  house,  and  yet  I  knew  it 
not ;  certainly  human  speech,  and  that  in  my  native  land ;  and 
yet  listen  as  I  pleased,  I  could  not  catch  one  syllable.  An  old 
tale  started  up  in  my  mind  of  a  fairy  wife  (or  perhaps  only 
a  wandering  stranger),  that  came  to  the  place  of  my  fathers 
some  generations  back,  and  stayed  the  matter  of  a  week, 
talking  often  in  a  tongue  that  signified  nothing  to  the 
hearers ;  and  went  again  as  she  had  come,  under  cloud  of 
night,  leaving  not  so  much  as  a  name  behind  her,  A  little 
fear  I  had,  but  more  curiosity;  and  I  opened  the  hall  door 
and  entered. 

The  supper  things  still  lay  upon  the  table;  the  shutters 
were  still  closed,  although  day  peeped  in  the  divisions ;  and 
the  great  room  was  lighted  only  with  a  single  taper  and  some 
lurching  reverberation  of  the  fire.  Close  in  the  chimney  sat 
two  men.  The  one  that  was  wrapped  in  a  cloak  and  wore 

*  Ordered, 

134, 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

boots,  I  knew  at  once :  it  was  the  bird  of  ill  omen  back  again. 
Of  the  other,  who  was  set  close  to  the  red  embers,  and  made 
up  into  a  bundle  like  a  mummy,  I  could  but  see  that  he  was  an 
alien,  of  a  darker  hue  than  any  man  of  Europe,  very  frailly 
built,  with  a  singular  tall  forehead  and  a  secret  eye.  Several 
bundles  and  a  small  valise  were  on  the  floor;  and  to  judge  by 
the  smallness  of  this  luggage,  and  by  the  condition  of  the 
master's  boots,  grossly  patched  by  some  unscrupulous  coun- 
try cobbler,  evil  had  not  prospered. 

He  rose  upon  my  entrance;  our  eyes  crossed;  and  I  know 
not  why  it  should  have  been,  but  my  courage  rose  like  a  lark 
on  a  May  morning. 

"Ha!"  said  I,  "is  this  you?" — and  I  was  pleased  with 
the  unconcern  of  my  own  voice. 

"  It  is  even  myself,  worthy  Mackellar,"  says  the  Master. 

"  This  time  you  have  brought  the  black  dog  visibly  upon 
your  back,"  I  continued. 

"  Referring  to  Secundra  Dass  ?  "  asked  the  Master.  "  Let 
me  present  you.  He  is  a  native  gentleman  of  India." 

"  Hum !  "  said  I.  "  I  am  no  great  lover  either  of  you  or 
your  friends,  Mr.  Bally.  But  I  will  let  a  little  daylight  in  and 
have  a  look  at  you."  And  so  saying,  I  undid  the  shutters  of 
the  eastern  window. 

By  the  light  of  the  morning  I  could  perceive  the  man  was 
changed.  Later,  when  we  were  all  together,  I  was  more 
struck  to  see  how  lightly  time  had  dealt  with  him,  but  the  first 
glance  was  otherwise. 

"  You  are  getting  an  old  man,"  said  I. 

A  shade  came  upon  his  face.  "  If  you  could  see  yourself," 
said  he,  "  you  would  perhaps  not  dwell  upon  the  topic." 

"  Hut !  "  I  returned ;  "  old  age  is  nothing  to  me.  I  think 
I  have  been  always  old,  and  I  am  now,  I  thank  God,  better 
known  and  more  respected.  It  is  not  every  one  that  can  say 
that,  Mr.  Bally !  The  lines  in  your  tjrow  are  calamities ;  your 
life  begins  to  close  in  upon  you  like  a  prison ;  death  will  soon 
be  rapping  at  the  door,  and  I  see  not  from  what  source  you 
are  to  draw  your  consolations." 

Here  the  Master  addressed  himself  to  Secundra  Dass  in 

LSff 


THE    MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

Hindoostanee,  from  which  I  gathered  (I  freely  confess,  with 
a  high  degree  of  pleasure)  that  my  remarks  annoyed  him. 
All  this  while,  you  may  be  sure,  my  mind  had  been  busy  upon 
other  matters  even  while  I  rallied  my  enemy,  and  chiefly  as  to 
how  I  should  communicate  secretly  and  quickly  with  my  lord. 
To  this,  in  the  breathing-space  now  given  me,  I  turned  all  the 
forces  of  my  mind,  when,  suddenly  shifting  my  eyes,  I  was 
aware  of  the  man  himself  standing  in  the  doorway,  and  to  all 
appearance  quite  composed.  He  had  no  sooner  met  my  looks 
than  he  stepped  across  the  threshold.  The  Master  heard  him 
coming,  and  advanced  upon  the  other  side;  about  four  feet 
apart  these  brothers  came  to  a  full  pause  and  stood  exchang- 
ing steady  looks,  and  then  my  lord  smiled,  bowed  a  little  for- 
ward and  turned  briskly  away. 

"  Mackellar,"  says  he,  "  we  must  see  to  breakfast  for  these 
travelers." 

It  was  plain  the  Master  was  a  trifle  disconcerted,  but  he 
assumed  the  more  impudence  of  speech  and  manner.  "  I  am 
as  hungry  as  a  hawk,"  says  he.  "  Let  it  be  something  good, 
Henry." 

My  lord  turned  to  him  with  the  same  hard  smile.  "  Lord 
Durrisdeer,"  says  he. 

"  Oh,  never  in  the  family !  "  returned  the  Master. 

"  Every  one  in  this  house  renders  me  my  proper  title," 
says  my  lord.  "  If  it  please  you  to  make  an  exception  I  will 
leave  you  to  consider  what  appearance  it  will  bear  to  stran- 
gers, and  whether  it  may  not  be  translated  as  an  effect  of 
impotent  jealousy." 

I  could  have  clapped  my  hands  together  with  delight :  the 
more  so  as  my  lord  left  no  time  for  any  answer,  but  bidding 
me  with  a  sign  to  follow  him,  went  straight  out  of  the  hall. 

"  Come  quick,"  says  he ;  "  we  have  to  sweep  vermin  from 
the  house."  And  he  sped  through  the  passage  with  so  swift 
a  step  that  I  could  scarce  keep  up  with  him  straight  to  the 
door  of  John  Paul,  the  which  he  opened  without  summons 
and  walked  in.  John  was  to  all  appearance  sound  asleep,  but 
my  lord  made  no  pretense  of  waking  him. 

"  John  Paul,"  said  he,  speaking  as  quietly  as  ever  I  heard 

136 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

him,  "  you  served  my  father  long  or  I  would  pack  you  from 
the  house  like  a  dog.  If  in  half  an  hour's  time  I  find  you  gone 
you  shall  continue  to  receive  your  wages  in  Edinburgh.  If 
you  linger  here  or  in  St.  Bride's — the  old  man,  old  servant 
and  altogether — I  shall  find  some  very  astonishing  way  to 
make  you  smart  for  your  disloyalty.  Up  and  begone.  The 
door  you  let  them  in  by  will  serve  for  your  departure.  I  do 
not  choose  my  son  shall  see  your  face  again." 

"  I  am  rejoiced  to  find  you  bear  the  thing  so  quietly,"  said 
I  when  we  were  forth  again  by  ourselves. 

"  Quietly !  "  cries  he,  and  put  my  hand  suddenly  against 
his  heart,  which  struck  upon  his  bosom  like  a  sledge. 

At  this  revelation  I  was  filled  with  wonder  and  fear.  There 
was  no  constitution  could  bear  so  violent  a  strain — his  least 
of  all  that  was  unhinged  already — and  I  decided  in  my  mind 
that  we  must  bring  this  monstrous  situation  to  an  end. 

"  It  would  be  well,  I  think,  if  I  took  word  to  my  lady," 
said  I.  Indeed,  he  should  have  gone  himself,  but  I  counted 
(not  in  vain)  on  his  indifference. 

"  Ay,"  says  he,  "  do.  I  will  hurry  breakfast ;  we  must  all 
appear  at  the  table,  even  Alexander;  it  must  appear  we  are 
untroubled." 

I  ran  to  my  lady's  room,  and  with  no  preparatory  cruelty 
disclosed  my  news. 

"  My  mind  was  long  ago  made  up,"  said  she.  "  We  must 
make  our  packets  secretly  to-day  and  leave  secretly  to-night. 
Thank  Heaven,  we  have  another  house!  The  first  ship  that 
sails  shall  bear  us  to  New  York." 

"  And  what  of  him  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  We  leave  him  Durrisdeer,"  she  cried.  "  Let  him  work  his 
pleasure  upon  that." 

"  Not  so,  by  your  leave,"  said  I.  "  There  shall  be  a  dog 
at  his  heels  that  can  hold  fast.  Bed  he  shall  have,  and  board, 
and  a  horse  to  ride  upon,  if  he  behave  himself ;  but  the  keys 
(if  you  think  well  of  it,  my  lady)  shall  be  left  in  the  hands 
of  one  Mackellar.  There  will  be  good  care  taken ;  trust  him 
for  that." 

"  Mr.    Mackellar,"    she   cried,   "  I   thank   you    for   that 

137 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

thought!  All  shall  be  left  in  your  hands.  If  we  must  go 
into  a  savage  country,  I  bequeath  it  to  you  to  take  our 
vengeance.  Send  Macconochie  to  St.  Bride's,  to  arrange 
privately  for  horses  and  to  call  the  lawyer.  My  lord  must 
leave  procuration." 

At  that  moment  my  lord  came  to  the  door,  and  we  opened 
our  plan  to  him. 

"  I  will  never  hear  of  it,"  he  cried ;  "  he  would  think  I 
feared  him.  I  will  stay  in  my  own  house,  please  God,  until 
I  die.  There  lives  not  the  man  can  beard  me  out  of  it.  Once 
and  for  all,  here  I  am  and  here  I  stay,  in  spite  of  all  the 
devils  in  hell."  I  can  give  no  idea  of  the  vehemency  of  his 
words  and  utterance ;  but  we  both  stood  aghast,  and  I  in  par- 
ticular, who  had  been  a  witness  of  his  former  self-restraint. 

My  lady  looked  at  me  with  an  appeal  that  went  to  my  heart 
and  recalled  me  to  my  wits.  I  made  her  a  private  sign  to  go, 
and,  when  my  lord  and  I  were  alone,  went  up  to  him  where  he 
was  racing  to  and  fro  in  one  end  of  the  room  like  a  half 
lunatic,  and  set  my  hand  firmly  on  his  shoulder. 

"  My  lord,"  says  I,  "  I  am  going  to  be  the  plaindealer  once 
more ;  if  for  the  last  time,  so  much  the  better,  for  I  am  grown 
weary  of  the  part." 

"  Nothing  will  change  me,"  he  answered.  "  God  forbid  I 
should  refuse  to  hear  you;  but  nothing  will  change,  me." 
This  he  said  firmly,  with  no  signal  of  the  former  violence, 
which  already  raised  my  hopes. 

"  Very  well,"  said  I.  "  I  can  afford  to  waste  my  breath." 
I  pointed  to  a  chair,  and  he  sat  down  and  looked  at  me.  "  I 
can  remember  a  time  when  my  lady  very  much  neglected  you," 
said  I. 

"  I  never  spoke  of  it  while  it  lasted,"  returned  my  lord, 
with  a  high  flush  of  color ;  "  and  it  is  all  changed  now." 

"  Do  you  know  how  much  ?  "  I  said.  "  Do  you  know  how 
much  it  is  all  changed?  The  tables  are  turned,  my  lord!  It 
is  my  lady  that  now  courts  you  for  a  word,  a  look,  ay,  and 
courts  you  in  vain.  Do  you  know  with  whom  she  passes  her 
days  while  you  are  out  gallivanting  in  the  policies?  My  lord, 
she  is  glad  to  pass  them  with  a  certain  dry  old  grieve  *  of 
*  Land  steward. 

138 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

the  name  of  Ephraim  Mackellar;  and  I  think  you  may  be 
able  to  remember  what  that  means,  for  I  am  the  more  in  a 
mistake  or  you  were  once  driven  to  the  same  company 
yourself." 

"  Mackellar !  "  cries  my  lord,  getting  to  his  feet.  "  Oh, 
my  God,  M'eckellar !  " 

"  It  is  neither  the  name  of  Mackellar  nor  the  name  of  God 
that  can  change  the  truth,"  said  I ;  "  and  I  am  telling  you 
the  fact.  Now,  for  you,  that  suffered  so  much,  to  deal  out 
the  same  suffering  to  another,  is  that  the  part  of  any  Chris- 
tian? But  you  are  so  swallowed  up  in  your  new  friend  that 
the  old  are  all  forgotten.  They  are  all  clean  vanished  from 
your  memory.  And  yet  they  stood  by  you  at  the  darkest ;  my 
lady  not  the  least.  And  does  my  lady  ever  cross  your  mind? 
Does  it  ever  cross  your  mind  what  she  went  through  that 
night? — or  what  manner  of  a  wife  she  has  been  to  you 
thence- forward  ? — or  in  what  kind  of  a  position  she  finds  her- 
self to-day?  Never.  It  is  your  pride  to  stay  and  face  him 
out,  and  she  must  stay  along  with  him.  Oh,  my  lord's  pride 
— that's  the  great  affair !  And  yet  she  is  the  woman,  and  you 
are  a  great,  hulking  man !  She  is  the  woman  that  you  swore 
to  protect;  and,  more  betoken,  the  own  mother  of  that  son 
of  yours ! " 

"  You  are  speaking  very  bitterly,  Mackellar,"  said  he ; 
"  but,  the  Lord  knows,  I  fear  you  are  speaking  very  true.  I 
have  not  Droved  worthy  of  my  happiness.  Bring  my  lady 
back." 

My  lady  was  waiting  near  at  hand  to  learn  the  issue. 
When  I  brought  her  in,  my  lord  took  a  hand  of  each  of  us 
and  laid  them  both  upon  his  bosom.  "  I  have  had  two  friends 
in  my  life,"  said  he.  "  All  the  comfort  ever  I  had,  it  came 
from  one  or  other.  When  you  two  are  in  a  mind,  I  think  I 
would  be  an  ungrateful  dog — "  He  shut  his  mouth  very 
hard,  and  looked  on  us  with  swimming  eyes.  "  Do  what  ye 
like  with  me,"  says  he,  "  only  don't  think — "  He  stopped 
again.  "  Do  what  ye  please  with  me.  God  knows  I  love  and 
honor  you."  And  dropping  our  two  hands,  he  turned  his 
back  and  went  and  gazed  out  of  the  window.  But  my  lady 

189 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

ran  after,  calling  his  name,  and  threw  herself  upon  his  neck 
in  a  passion  of  weeping. 

I  went  out  and  shut  the  door  behind  me,  and  stood  and 
thanked  God  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart. 

At  the  breakfast  board,  according  to  my  lord's  design,  we 
were  all  met.  The  master  had  by  that  time  plucked  off'  his 
patched  boots  and  made  a  toilet  suitable  to  the  hour ;  Secun- 
dra  Dass  was  no  longer  bundled  up  in  wrappers,  but  wore  a 
decent  plain  black  suit,  which  misbecame  him  strangely ;  and 
the  pair  were  at  the  great  window  looking  forth,  when  the 
family  entered.  They  turned;  and  the  black  man  (as  they 
had  already  named  him  in  the  house)  bowed  almost  to  his 
knees,  but  the  Master  was  for  running  forward  like  one  of 
the  family.  My  lady  stopped  him,  courtesying  low  from  the 
far  end  of  the  hall,  and  keeping  her  children  at  her  back. 
My  lord  was  a  little  in  front:  so  there  were  the  three  cousins 
of  Durrisdeer  face  to  face.  The  hand  of  time  was  very 
legible  on  all.  I  seemed  to  read  in  their  changed  faces  a 
memento  mori;  and  what  affected  me  still  more,  it  was  the 
wicked  man  that  bore  his  years  the  handsomest.  My  lady  was 
quite  transfigured  into  the  matron,  a  becoming  woman  for 
the  head  of  a  great  tableful  of  children  and  dependents. 
My  lord  was  grown  slack  in  his  limbs;  he  stooped;  he 
walked  with  a  running  motion,  as  though  he  had  learned 
again  from  Mr.  Alexander;  his  face  was  drawn;  it  seemed 
a  trifle  longer  than  of  old ;  and  it  wore  at  times  a  smile  very 
singularly  mingled,  and  which  (in  my  eyes)  appeared  both 
bitter  and  pathetic.  But  the  Master  still  bore  himself  erect, 
although  perhaps  with  effort;  his  brow  barred  about  the 
center  with  imperious  lines,  his  mouth  set  as  for  command. 
He  had  all  the  gravity  and  something  of  the  splendor  of 
Satan  in  the  "  Paradise  Lost."  I  could  not  help  but  see 
the  man  with  admiration,  and  was  only  surprised  that  I 
saw  him  with  so  little  fear. 

But  indeed  (as  long  as  we  were  at  the  table)  it  seemed  as 
if  his  authority  were  quite  vanished  and  his  teeth  all  drawn. 
We  had  known  him  a  magician  that  controlled  the  elements ; 
and  here  he  was,  transformed  into  an  ordinary  gentleman, 

140 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

chatting  like  his  neighbors  at  the  breakfast  board.  For 
now  the  father  was  dead,  and  my  lord  and  lady  reconciled, 
in  what  ear  was  he  to  pour  his  calumnies?  It  came  upon  me 
in  a  kind  of  vision  how  hugely  I  had  overrated  the  man's 
subtlety.  He  had  his  malice  still,  he  was  false  as  ever ;  and, 
the  occasion  being  gone  that  made  his  strength,  he  sat  there 
impotent;  he  was  still  the  viper,  but  now  spent  his  venom 
on  a  file.  Two  more  thoughts  occurred  to  me  while  yet  we 
gat  at  breakfast:  the  first,  that  he  was  abashed — I  had 
almost  said  distressed — to  find  his  wickedness  quite  unavail- 
ing ;  the  second,  that  perhaps  my  lord  was  in  the  right,  and 
we  did  amiss  to  fly  from  our  dismasted  enemy.  But  my  poor 
master's  leaping  heart  came  in  my  mind,  and  I  remembered 
it  was  for  his  life  we  played  the  coward. 

When  the  meal  was  over,  the  Master  followed  me  to  my 
room,  and  taking  a  chair  (which  I  had  never  offered  him), 
asked  me  what  was  to  be  done  with  him. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Bally,"  said  I,  "  the  house  will  still  be  open 
to  you  for  a  time." 

"  For  a  time?  "  says  he.  "  I  do  not  know  if  I  quite  take 
your  meaning." 

"  It  is  plain  enough,"  said  I.  '*  We  keep  you  for  our 
reputation;  as  soon  as  you  shall  have  publicly  disgraced 
yourself  by  some  of  your  misconduct,  we  shall  pack  you 
forth  again. 

"  You  are  become  an  impudent  rogue,"  said  the  Master 
bending  his  brows  at  me  dangerously. 

"  I  learned  in  a  good  school,"  I  returned.  "  And  you  must 
have  perceived  yourself  that  with  my  old  lord's  death  your 
power  is  quite  departed.  I  do  not  fear  you  now,  Mr.  Bally ; 
I  think  even — God  forgive  me — that  I  take  a  certain  pleasure 
in  your  company." 

He  broke  out  in  a  burst  of  laughter,  which  I  clearly  saw 
to  be  assumed. 

"  I  have  come  with  empty  pockets,"  says  he  after  a. 
pause. 

"  I  do  not  think  there  will  be  any  money  going,"  I  re- 
plied. "  I  would  advise  you  not  to  build  on  that." 

141 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"I  shall  have  something  to  say  on  that  point,"  he  re- 
turned. 

"  Indeed?  "  said  I.  "  I  have  not  a  guess  what  it  will  be, 
then." 

"  Oh,  you  affect  confidence,"  said  the  master.  "  I  have 
still  one  strong  position — that  you  people  fear  a  scandal, 
and  I  enjoy  it." 

*'  Pardon  me,  Mr.  Bally,"  says  I.  "  We  do  not  in  the 
least  fear  a  scandal  against  you." 

He  laughed  again.  "  You  have  been  studying  repartee," 
he  said.  "  But  speech  is  very  easy,  and  sometimes  very 
deceptive.  I  warn  you  fairly :  you  will  find  me  vitriol  in  the 
house.  You  would  do  wiser  to  pay  money  down,  and  see  my 
back."  And  with  that  he  waved  his  hand  to  me  and  left 
the  room. 

A  little  after  my  lord  came  with  the  lawyer,  Mr.  Carlyle ; 
a  bottle  of  old  wine  was  brought,  and  we  all  had  a  glass 
before  we  fell  to  business.  The  necessary  deeds  were  then 
prepared  and  executed,  and  the  Scotch  estates  made  over 
in  trust  to  Mr.  Carlyle  and  myself. 

"  There  is  one  point,  Mr.  Carlyle,"  said  my  lord,  when 
these  affairs  had  been  adjusted,  "  on  which  I  wish  that 
you  would  do  us  justice.  This  sudden  departure  coinciding 
with  my  brother's  return  will  be  certainly  commented  on. 
I  wish  you  would  discourage  any  conjunction  of  the  two." 

"  I  will  make  a  point  of  it,  my  lord,"  said  Mr.  Carlyle. 
"The  Mas — Mr.  Bally  does  not  then  accompany  you?" 

"  It  is  a  point  I  must  approach,"  said  my  lord.  "  Mr. 
Bally  remains  at  Durrisdeer  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Mac- 
kellar;  and  I  do  not  mean  that  he  shall  even  know  our 
destination." 

"  Common  report,  however — "  began  the  lawyer. 

"  Ah,  but  Mr.  Carlyle,  this  is  to  be  a  secret  quite  among 
ourselves,"  interrupted  my  lord.  "  None  but  you  and  Mac- 
kellar  are  to  be  made  acquainted  with  my  movements." 

"And  Mr.  Bally  stays  here?  Quite  so,"  said  Mr.  Carlyle. 
"  The  powers  you  leave —  "  then  he  broke  off  again.  "  Mr. 
Mackellar,  we  have  a  rather  heavy  weight  upon  us." 

142 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  No  doubt,  sir,"  said  I. 

"  No  doubt,"  said  he.     **  Mr.  Bally  will  have  no  voice?  " 

"  He  will  have  no  voice,"  said  my  lord,  "  and  I  hope  no 
influence.  Mr.  Bally  is  not  a  good  adviser." 

"  I  see,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  By  the  way,  has  Mr.  Bally 
means?  " 

"  I  understand  him  to  have  nothing,"  replied  my  lord.  "  I 
give  him  table,  fire,  and  candle  in  this  house." 

"  And  in  the  matter  of  an  allowance?  If  I  am  to  share 
the  responsibility,  you  will  see  how  highly  desirable  it  is 
that  I  should  understand  your  views,"  said  the  lawyer. 
"  On  the  question  of  an  allowance?  " 

"  There  will  be  no  allowance,"  said  my  lord.  "  I  wish 
Mr.  Bally  to  live  very  private.  We  have  not  always  been 
gratified  with  his  behavior." 

"  And  in  the  matter  of  money,"  I  added,  "  he  has  shown 
himself  an  infamous  bad  husband.  Glance  your  eye  upon 
that  document,  Mr.  Carlyle,  where  I  have  brought  together 
the  different  sums  the  man  has  drawn  from  the  estate  in  the 
last  fifteen  or  twenty  years.  The  total  is  pretty." 

Mr.  Carlyle  made  the  motion  of  whistling.  "  I  had  no 
guess  of  this,"  said  he.  "  Excuse  me  once  more,  my  lord, 
if  I  appear  to  push  you;  but  it  is  really  desirable  I  should 
penetrate  your  intentions:  Mr.  Mackellar  might  die,  when 
I  should  find  myself  alone  upon  this  trust.  Would  it  not 
be  rather  your  lordship's  preference  that  Mr.  Bally  should 
— ahem — should  leave  the  country?  " 

My  lord  looked  at  Mr.  Carlyle.  "  Why  do  you  ask 
that?  "said  he. 

"  I  gather,  my  lord,  that  Mr.  Bally  is  not  a  comfort  to 
his  family,"  says  the  lawyer  with  a  smile. 

My  lord's  face  became  suddenly  knotted.  "  I  wish  he 
was  in  hell,"  cried  he,  and  filled  himself  a  glass  of  wine,  but 
with  a  hand  so  tottering  that  he  spilled  the  half  into  his 
bosom.  This  was  the  second  time  that,  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  regular  and  wise  behavior,  his  animosity  had  spurted 
out.  It  startled  Mr.  Carlyle,  who  observed  my  lord  thence- 
forth with  covert  curiosity,  and  to  me  it  restored  the  cer- 
143 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

tainty  that  we  were  acting  for  the  best  in  view  of  my  lord's 
health  and  reason. 

Except  for  this  explosion,  the  interview  was  very  suc- 
cessfully conducted.  No  doubt  Mr.  Carlyle  would  talk;  as 
lawyers  do,  little  by  little.  We  could  thus  feel  we  had  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  better  feeling  in  the  country;  and  the 
man's  own  misconduct  would  certainly  complete  what  we 
had  begun.  Indeed,  before  his  departure,  the  lawyer  showed 
us  there  had  already  gone  abroad  some  glimmerings  of  the 
truth. 

"  I  should  perhaps  explain  to  you,  my  lord,"  said  he, 
pausing,  with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  "  that  I  have  not  been 
altogether  surprised  with  your  lordship's  dispositions  in 
the  case  of  Mr.  Bally.  Something  of  this  nature  oozed  out 
when  he  was  last  in  Durrisdeer.  There  was  some  talk  of  a 
woman  at  St.  Bride's  to  whom  you  had  behaved  extremely 
handsome,  and  Mr.  Bally  with  no  small  degree  of  cruelty. 
There  was  the  entail  again,  which  was  much  controverted. 
In  short,  there  was  no  want  of  talk,  back  and  forward ;  and 
some  of  our  wiseacres  took  up  a  strong  opinion.  I  remained 
in  suspense,  as  became  one  of  my  cloth ;  but  Mr.  Mackellar's 
docket  here  has  finally  opened  my  eyes.  I  do  not  think, 
Mr.  Mackellar,  that  you  and  I  will  give  him  that  much 
rope." 

The  rest  of  that  important  day  passed  prosperously 
through.  It  was  our  policy  to  keep  the  enemy  in  view, 
and  I  took  my  turn  to  be  his  watchman  with  the  rest.  I 
think  his  spirits  rose  as  he  perceived  us  to  be  so  attentive: 
and  I  know  that  mine  insensibly  declined.  What  chiefly 
daunted  me  was  the  man's  singular  dexterity  to  worm  him- 
self into  our  troubles.  You  may  have  felt  (after  a  horse 
accident)  the  hand  of  a  bone-setter  artfully  divide  and 
interrogate  the  muscles,  and  settle  strongly  on  the  injured 
place?  It  was  so  with  the  Master's  tongue  that  was  so  cun- 
ning to  question,  and  his  eyes  that  were  so  quick  to  observe. 
I  seemed  to  have  said  nothing,  and  yet  to  have  let  all  out. 
Before  I  knew  where  I  was,  the  man  was  condoling  with 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

me  on  my  lord's  neglect  of  my  lady  and  myself,  and  his 
hurtful  indulgence  to  his  son.  On  this  last  point  I  per- 
ceived him  (with  panic  fear)  to  return  repeatedly.  The  boy 
had  displayed  a  certain  shrinking  from  his  uncle;  it  was 
strong  in  my  mind  his  father  had  been  fool  enough  to  in- 
doctrinate the  same,  which  was  no  wise  beginning:  and  when 
I  looked  upon  the  man  before  me,  still  so  handsome,  so 
apt  a  speaker,  with  so  great  a  variety  of  fortunes  to  re- 
late, I  saw  he  was  the  very  personage  to  captivate  a  boyish 
fancy. 

John  Paul  had  left  only  that  morning;  it  was  not  to 
be  supposed  he  had  been  altogether  dumb  upon  his  fa- 
vorite subject:  so  that  here  would  be  Mr.  Alexander  in 
the  part  of  Dido,  with  a  curiosity  inflamed  to  hear;  and 
there  would  be  the  Master  like  a  diabolical  ^Eneas,  full  of 
matter  the  most  pleasing  in  the  world  to  any  youthful 
ear,  such  as  battles,  sea  disasters,  flights,  the  forests  of  the 
west,  and  (since  his  later  voyage)  the  ancient  cities  of  the 
Indies.  How  cunningly  these  baits  might  be  employed,  and 
what  an  empire  might  be  so  founded,  little  by  little,  in  the 
mind  of  any  boy,  stood  obviously  clear  to  me.  There  was 
no  inhibition,  so  long  as  the  man  was  in  the  house,  that 
would  be  strong  enough  to  hold  these  two  apart;  for  if 
it  be  hard  to  charm  serpents,  it  is  no  very  difficult  thing 
to  cast  a  glamour  on  a  little  chip  of  manhood  not  very  long 
in  breeches.  I  recalled  an  ancient  sailor-man  who  dwelt  in 
a  lone  house  beyond  the  Figgate  Whins  (I  believe  he  called 
it  after  Portobello),  and  how  the  boys  would  troop  out  of 
Leith  on  a  Saturday,  and  sit  and  listen  to  his  swearing  tales, 
as  thick  as  crows  about  a  carrion:  a  thing  I  often  remarked 
as  I  went  by,  a  young  student,  on  my  own  more  meditative 
holiday  diversion.  Many  of  these  boys  went,  no  doubt,  in 
the  face  of  an  express  command;  many  feared  and  even 
hated  the  old  brute  of  whom  they  made  their  hero ;  and  I 
have  seen  them  flee  from  him  when  he  was  tipsy,  and  stone 
him  when  he  was  drunk.  And  yet  there  they  came  each 
Saturday!  How  much  more  easily  would  a  boy  like  Mr. 
Alexander  fall  under  the  influence  of  a  high-looking,  high- 

145 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

spoken  gentleman  adventurer  who  should  conceive  the  fancy 
to  entrap  him ;  and  the  influence  gained,  how  easy  to  employ 
it  for  the  child's  perversion! 

I  doubt  if  our  enemy  had  named  Mr.  Alexander  three 
times,  before  I  perceived  which  way  his  mind  was  aiming — 
all  this  train  of  thought  and  memory  passed  in  one  pulsa- 
tion through  my  own — and  you  may  say  I  started  back  as 
though  an  open  hole  had  gaped  across  a  pathway.  Mr. 
Alexander:  there  was  the  weak  point,  there  was  the  Eve  in 
our  perishable  paradise;  and  the  serpent  was  already  hiss- 
ing on  the  trail. 

I  promise  you  I  went  the  more  heartily  about  the  prep- 
arations ;  my  last  scruple  gone,  the  danger  of  delay  written 
before  me  in  huge  characters.  From  that  moment  forth, 
I  seem  not  to  have  sat  down  or  breathed.  Now  I  would  be 
at  my  post  with  the  Master  and  his  Indian ;  now  in  the  gar- 
ret buckling  a  valise ;  now  sending  forth  Macconochie  by  the 
side  postern  and  the  wood-path  to  bear  it  to  the  trysting- 
place;  and  again,  snatching  some  words  of  counsel  with 
my  lady.  This  was  the  verso  of  our  life  in  Durrisdeer  that 
day;  but  on  the  recto  all  appeared  quite  settled,  as  of  a 
family  at  home  in  its  paternal  seat ;  and  what  perturbation 
may  have  been  observable  the  Master  would  set  down  to  the 
blow  of  his  unlooked-for  coming  and  the  fear  he  was  ac- 
customed to  inspire. 

Supper  went  creditably  off,  cold  salutations  passed,  and 
the  company  trooped  to  their  respective  chambers.  I  at- 
tended the  Master  to  the  last.  We  had  put  him  next  door 
to  his  Indian,  in  the  north  wing ;  because  that  was  the  most 
distant  and  could  be  severed  from  the  body  of  the  house  with 
doors.  I  saw  he  was  a  kind  friend  or  a  good  master  (which- 
ever it  was)  to  his  Secundra  Dass:  seeing  to  his  comfort; 
mending  the  fire  with  his  own  hand,  for  the  Indian  complained 
of  cold;  inquiring  as  to  the  rice  on  which  the  stranger 
made  his  diet ;  talking  with  him  pleasantly  in  the  Hindoo- 
stanee,  while  I  stood  by,  my  candle  in  my  hand,  and  affected 
to  be  overcome  with  slumber.  At  length  the  master  observed 
my  signals  of  distress.  "  I  perceive,"  says  he,  "  that  you 

146 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

have  all  your   ancient  habits:    early   to  bed  and  early   to 
rise.     Yawn  yourself  away !  " 

Once  in  my  own  room,  I  made  the  customary  motions  of 
undressing,  so  that  I  might  time  myself;  and  when  the 
cycle  was  complete,  set  my  tinder-box  ready  and  blew  out 
my  taper.  The  matter  of  an  hour  afterward  I  made  a  light 
again,  put  on  my  shoes  of  list  that  I  had  worn  by  my  lord's 
sick-bed,  and  set  forth  into  the  house  to  call  the  voyagers. 
All  were  dressed  and  waiting — my  lord,  my  lady,  Miss  Kath- 
arine, Mr.  Alexander,  my  lady's  woman  Christie;  and  I 
observed  the  effect  of  secrecy  even  upon  quite  innocent  per- 
sons, that  one  after  another  showed  in  the  chink  of  the 
door  a  face  as  white  as  paper.  We  slipped  out  of  the  side 
postern  into  a  night  of  darkness,  scarce  broken  by  a  star 
or  two;  so  that  at  first  we  groped  and  stumbled  and  fell 
among  the  bushes.  A  few  hundred  yards  up  the  wood-path 
Macconochie  was  waiting  us  with  a  great  lantern;  so  the 
rest  of  the  way  we  went  easy  enough,  but  still  in  a  kind  of 
guilty  silence.  A  little  beyond  the  abbey  the  path  debouched 
on  the  main  road;  and  some  quarter  of  a  mile  further,  at 
the  place  called  Eagles,  where  the  moors  begin,  we  saw  the 
lights  of  the  two  carriages  stand  shining  by  the  wayside. 
Scarce  a  word  or  two  was  uttered  at  our  parting,  and  these 
regarded  business;  a  silent  grasping  of  hands,  a  turning 
of  faces  aside,  and  the  thing  was  over ;  the  horses  broke  into 
a  trot,  the  lamplight  sped  like  will-o'-the-wisp  upon  the 
broken  moorland,  it  dipped  beyond  Stony  Brae;  and  there 
were  Macconochie  and  I  alone  with  our  lantern  on  the  road. 
There  was  one  thing  more  to  wait  for;  and  that  was  the 
reappearance  of  the  coach  upon  Cartmore.  It  seems  they 
must  have  pulled  up  upon  the  summit,  looked  back  for  a 
last  time,  and  seen  our  lantern  not  yet  moved  away 
from  the  place  of  separation.  For  a  lamp  was  taken 
from  a  carriage,  and  waved  three  times  up  and  down  by 
way  of  a  farewell.  And  then  they  were  gone  indeed,  hav- 
ing looked  their  last  on  the  kind  roof  of  Durrisdeer,  their 
faces  toward  a  barbarous  country.  I  never  knew  before  the 
greatness  of  that  vault  of  night  in  which  we  two  poor  serv- 

147 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

ing-men,  the  one  old  and  the  one  elderly,  stood  for  the  first 
time  deserted;  I  had  never  felt  before  my  own  dependency 
upon  the  countenance  of  others.  The  sense  of  isolation 
burned  in  my  bowels  like  a  fire.  It  seemed  that  we  who 
remained  at  home  were  the  true  exiles ;  and  that  Durrisdeer, 
and  Solwayside,  and  all  that  made  my  country  native,  its  air 
good  to  me,  and  its  language  welcome,  had  gone  forth  and  was 
for  over  the  sea  with  my  old  masters. 

The  remainder  of  that  night  I  paced  to  and  fro  on  the 
smooth  highway,  reflecting  on  the  future  and  the  past.  My 
thoughts,  which  at  first  dwelled  tenderly  on  those  who  were 
just  gone,  took  a  more  manly  temper  as  I  considered  what 
remained  for  me  to  do.  Day  came  upon  the  inland  moun- 
tain-tops, and  the  fowls  began  to  cry  and  the  smoke  of  home- 
steads to  arise  in  the  brown  bosom  of  the  moors,  before  I 
turned  my  face  homeward  and  went  down  the  path  to  where 
the  roof  of  Durrisdeer  shone  in  the  morning  by  the  sea. 

At  the  customary  hour  I  had  the  Master  called,  and 
awaited  his  coming  in  the  hall  with  a  quiet  mind.  He  looked 
about  him  at  the  empty  room  and  the  three  covers  set. 

"  We  are  a  small  party,"  said  he.     "  How  comes  that?  " 

"  This  is  the  party  to  which  we  must  grow  accustomed," 
I  replied. 

He  looked  at  me  with  sudden  sharpness.  "  What  is  all 
this  ?  "  said  he. 

"  You  and  I  and  your  friend  Mr.  Dass  are  now  all  the 
company,"  I  replied.  "  My  lord,  my  lady,  and  the  children 
are  gone  upon  a  voyage." 

"Upon  my  word!"  said  he.  "Can  this  be  possible?  I 
have  indeed  fluttered  your  Volscians  in  Corioli !  But  this 
is  no  reason  why  our  breakfast  should  go  cold.  Sit  down, 
Mr.  Mackellar,  if  you  please " — taking,  as  he  spoke,  the 
head  of  the  table,  which  I  had  designed  to  occupy  myself — 
"  and  as  we  eat,  you  can  give  me  the  details  of  this  evasion." 

I  could  see  he  was  more  affected  than  his  language  car- 
ried, and  I  determined  to  equal  him  in  coolness.  "  I  was 
about  to  ask  you  to  take  the  head  of  the  table,"  said  I; 

148 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

J<  for  though  I  am  now  thrust  Into  the  position  of  your 
host,  I  could  never  forget  that  you  were,  after  all,  a  member 
of  the  family." 

For  awhile  he  played  the  part  of  entertainer,  giving 
directions  to  Macconochie,  who  received  them  with  an  evil 
grace,  and  attending  specially  upon  Secundra.  "  And  where 
has  my  good  family  withdrawn  to  ?  "  he  asked  carelessly 

"Ah,  Mr.  Bally,  that  is  another  point!"  said  I  -",! 
have  no  orders  to  communicate  their  destination." 

"  To  me,"  he  corrected. 

"  To  any  one,"  said  I. 

"  It  is  the  less  pointed,"  said  the  Master ;  "  c'est  de  ban 
ton:  my  brother  improves  as  he  continues.  And  I.  dear 
Mr.  Mackellar  ?  " 

"You  will  have  bed  and  board,  Mr.  Bally,"  said  I.  "I 
am  permitted  to  give  you  the  run  of  the  cellar,  which  is 
pretty  reasonably  stocked.  You  have  only  to  keep  well 
with  me,  which  --  ~>~  vrry  difficult  matter,  and  you  shall  want 
neither  for  wine  nor  a  saddle-horse." 

He  made  an  excuse  to  send  Macconochie  from  the  room. 

"  And  for  money  ?  "  he  inquired.  "  Have  I  to  keep  well 
with  my  good  friend  Mackellar  for  my  pocket-money  also? 
This  is  a  pleasing  return  to  the  principles  of  boyhood." 

"  There  was  no  allowance  made,"  said  I ;  "  but  I  will 
take  it  on  myself  to  see  you  are  supplied  in  moderation." 

"In  moderation?"  he  repeated.  "And  you  will  take 
it  on  yourself?  "  He  drew  himself  up  and  looked  about 
the  hall  at  the  dark  row  of  portraits.  "  In  the  name  of 
my  ancestors,  I  thank  you,"  says  he;  and  then,  with  a  re- 
turn to  irony :  "  But  there  must  certainly  be  an  allowance 
for  Secundra  Dass?"  he  said.  "It  is  not  possible  they 
have  omitted  that." 

"  I  will  make  a  note  of  it  and  ask  instructions  when  I 
write,"  said  I. 

And  he,  with  a  sudden  change  of  manner,  and  leaning 
forward  with  an  elbow  on  the  table :  "  Do  you  think  this 
entirely  wise?  " 

"  I  execute  my  orders,  Mr.  Bally,"  said  I. 

149 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Profoundly  modest,"  said  the  Master ;  "  perhaps  not 
equally  ingenuous.  You  told  me  yesterday  my  power  was 
fallen  with  my  father's  death.  How  comes  it,  then,  that 
a  peer  of  the  realm  flees  under  cloud  of  night  out  of  a 
house  in  which  his  fathers  have  stood  several  sieges?  that 
he  conceals  his  address,  which  must  be  a  matter  of  concern 
to  his  gracious  majesty  and  to  the  whole  republic?  and 
that  he  should  leave  me  in  possession,  and  under  the  paternal 
charge  of  his  invaluable  Mackellar?  This  smacks  to  me  of 
a  very  considerable  and  genuine  apprehension." 

I  sought  to  interrupt  him  with  some  not  very  truth- 
ful denegation;  but  he  waved  me  down  and  pursued  his 
speech. 

"  I  say  it  smacks  of  it,"  he  said,  "  but  I  will  go  beyond 
that,  for  I  think  the  apprehension  grounded.  I  came  to  this 
house  with  some  reluctancy.  In  view  of  the  manner  of 
my  last  departure,  nothing  but  necessity  could  have  induced 
me  to  return.  Money,  however,  is  that  which  I  must  have. 
You  will  not  give  with  a  good  grace ;  well,  I  have  the  power 
to  force  it  from  you.  Inside  of  a  week,  without  leaving 
Durrisdeer,  I  will  find  out  where  these  fools  are  fled  to. 
I  will  follow;  and  when  I  have  run  my  quarry  down  I  will 
drive  a  wedge  into  that  family  that  shall  once  more  burst 
it  into  shivers.  I  shall  see  then  whether  my  Lord  Durris- 
deer "  (said  with  indescribable  scorn  and  rage)  "  will  choose 
to  buy  my  absence;  and  you  will  all  see  whether,  by  that 
time,  I  decide  for  profit  or  revenge." 

I  was  amazed  to  hear  the  man  so  open.  The  truth  is, 
he  was  consumed  with  anger  at  my  lord's  successful  flight, 
felt  himself  to  figure  as  a  dupe,  and  was  in  no  humor  to 
weigh  language. 

"  Do  you  consider  this  entirely  wise?  "  said  I,  copying  his 
words. 

u  These  twenty  years  I  have  lived  by  my  poor  wisdom," 
he  answered,  with  a  smile  that  seemed  almost  foolish  in  its 
vanity. 

"  And  come  out  a  beggar  in  the  end,"  said  I,  "  if  beggar 
be  a  strong  enough  word  for  it." 

150 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  I  would  have  you  observe,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  cried  he, 
with  a  sudden,  imperious  heat  in  which  I  could  not  but 
admire  him,  "  that  I  am  scrupulously  civil ;  copy  me  in  that, 
and  we  shall  be  the  better  friends." 

Throughout  this  dialogue  I  had  been  incommoded  by  the 
observation  of  Secundra  Dass,  Not  one  of  us,  since  the 
first  word,  had  made  a  feint  of  eating;  our  eyes  were  in 
each  other's  faces — you  might  say,  in  each  other's  bosoms; 
and  those  of  the  Indian  troubled  me  with  a  certain  changing 
brightness,  as  of  comprehension.  But  I  brushed  the  fancy 
aside;  telling  myself  once  more  he  understood  no  English; 
only,  from  the  gravity  of  both  voices  and  the  occasional  scorn 
and  anger  in  the  master's,  smelled  out  there  was  something 
of  import  in  the  wind. 

For  the  matter  of  three  weeks  we  continued  to  live  to- 
gether in  the  house  of  Durrisdeer,  the  beginning  of  that 
most  singular  chapter  of  my  life — what  I  must  call  my 
intimacy  with  the  Master.  At  first  he  was  somewhat  change- 
able in  his  behavior;  now  civil,  now  returning  to  his  old 
manner  of  flouting  me  to  my  face;  and  in  both  I  met  him 
halfway.  Thanks  be  to  Providence,  I  had  now  no  measure 
to  keep  with  the  man;  and  I  was  never  afraid  of  black 
brows,  only  of  naked  swords.  So  that  I  found  a  certain 
entertainment  in  these  bouts  of  incivility,  and  was  not  al- 
ways ill-inspired  in  my  rejoinders.  At  last  (it  was  at  sup- 
per) I  had  a  droll  expression  that  entirely  vanquished  him. 
He  laughed  again  and  again ;  and  "  Who  would  have 
guessed,"  he  cried,  "  that  this  old  wife  had  any  wit  under 
his  petticoats  ?  " 

"  It  is  no  wit,  Mr.  Bally,"  said  I ;  "  a  dry  Scot's  humor, 
and  something  of  the  driest."  And  indeed  I  never  had  the 
least  pretension  to  be  thought  a  wit. 

From  that  hour  he  was  never  rude  with  me,  but  all  passed 
between  us  in  a  manner  of  pleasantry.  One  of  our  chief 
times  of  daffing  *  was  when  he  required  a  horse,  another 
bottle,  or  some  money ;  he  would  approach  me  then  after  the 
manner  of  a  schoolboy,  and  I  would  carry  it  on  by  way  of 

*  Fooling. 
151 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

being  his  father;  on  both  sides,  with  an  infinity  of  mirth. 
I  could  not  but  perceive  that  he  thought  more  of  me,  which 
tickled  that  poor  part  of  mankind,  the  vanity.  He  dropped 
besides  (I  must  suppose  unconsciously)  into  a  manner  that 
was  not  only  familiar,  but  even  friendly;  and  this,  on  the 
part  of  one  who  had  so  long  detested  me,  I  found  the  more 
insidious.  He  went  little  abroad;  sometimes  even  refusing 
invitations.  "  No,"  he  would  say,  "  what  do  I  care  for 
these  thick-headed  bonnet-lairds?  I  will  stay  at  home,  Mac- 
kellar;  and  we  shall  share  a  bottle  quietly  and  have  one 
of  our  good  talks."  And  indeed  meal-time  at  Durrisdeer 
must  have  been  a  delight  to  any  one,  by  reason  of  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  discourse.  He  would  often  express  wonder 
at  his  former  indifference  to  my  society.  "  But,  you  see," 
he  would  add,  "  we  were  upon  opposite  sides.  And  so  we 
are  to-day;  but  let  us  never  speak  of  that.  I  would  think 
much  less  of  you  if  you  were  not  stanch  to  your  employer." 
You  are  to  consider,  he  seemed  to  me  quite  impotent  for 
any  evil;  and  how  it  is  a  most  engaging  form  of  flattery 
when  (after  many  years)  tardy  justice  is  done  to  a  man's 
character  and  parts.  But  I  have  no  thought  to  excuse  my- 
self. I  was  to  blame;  I  let  him  cajole  me;  and,  in  short, 
I  think  the  watch-dog  was  going  sound  asleep,  when  he  was 
suddenly  aroused. 

I  should  say  the  Indian  was  continually  traveling  to  and 
fro  in  the  house.  He  never  spoke,  save  in  his  own  dialect 
and  with  the  master ;  walked  without  sound ;  and  was  always 
turning  up  where  you  would  least  expect  him  fallen  into 
a  deep  abstraction,  from  which  he  would  start  (upon  your 
coming)  to  mock  you  with  one  of  his  groveling  obeisances. 
He  seemed  so  quiet,  so  frail,  and  so  wrapped  in  his  own 
fancies,  that  I  came  to  pass  him  over  without  much  regard, 
or  even  to  pity  him  for  a  harmless  exile  from  his  country. 
And  yet  without  doubt  the  creature  was  still  eavesdropping ; 
and  without  doubt  it  was  through  his  stealth  and  my  security 
that  our  secret  reached  the  master. 

It  was  one  very  wild  night,  after  supper,  and  when  we 
had  been  making  more  than  usually  merry,  that  the  blow 
fell  on  me. 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  This  is  all  very  fine,"  says  the  Master,  "  but  we  should 
do  better  to  be  buckling  our  valise." 

"  Why  so  ?  "  I  cried.     "  Are  you  leaving  ?  " 

"  We  are  all  leaving  to-morrow  in  the  morning,"  said  he. 
"  For  the  port  of  Glasgow  first ;  thence  for  the  province  of 
New  York." 

I  suppose  I  must  have  groaned  aloud. 

"  Yes,"  he  continued,  "  I  boasted ;  I  said  a  week,  and  it 
has  taken  me  near  twenty  days.  But  never  mind;  I  shall 
make  it  up ;  I  will  go  the  faster." 

"  Have  you  the  money  for  this  voyage?  "  I  asked. 

"  Dear  and  ingenuous  personage,  I  have,"  said  he.  "  Blame 
me,  if  you  choose,  for  my  duplicity ;  but  while  I  have  been 
wringing  shillings  from  my  daddy,  I  had  a  stock  of  my 
own  put  by  against  a  rainy  day.  You  will  pay  for  your 
own  passage,  if  you  choose  to  accompany  us  on  our  flank 
march;  I  have  enough  for  Secundra  and  myself,  but  not 
more;  enough  to  be  dangerous,  not  enough  to  be  generous. 
There  is,  however,  an  outside  seat  upon  the  chaise  which 
I  will  let  you  have  upon  a  moderate  commutation;  so  that 
the  whole  menagerie  can  go  together,  the  house-dog,  the 
monkey,  and  the  tiger." 

"  I  go  with  you,"  said  I. 

*'  I  count  upon  it,"  said  the  master.  "  You  have  seen  me 
foiled,  I  mean  you  shall  see  me  victorious.  To  gain  that, 
I  will  risk  wetting  you  like  a  sop  in  this  wild  weather." 

"  And  at  least,"  I  added,  "  you  know  very  well  you  could 
not  throw  me  off." 

"  Not  easily,"  said  he.  "  You  put  your  finger  on  the 
point  with  your  usual  excellent  good  sense.  I  never  fight 
with  the  inevitable." 

"  I  suppose  it  is  useless  to  appeal  to  you,"  said  I. 

"  Believe  me,  perfectly,"  said  he. 

"  And  yet  if  you  would  give  me  time,  I  could  write — " 
I  began. 

"And  what  would  be  my  Lord  Durrisdeer's  answer?" 
asks  he. 

"  Ay,"  said  I,  "  that  is  the  rub." 

153 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  And  at  any  rate,  how  much  more  expeditious  that  I 
should  go  myself ! "  says  he.  "  But  all  this  is  quite  a  waste 
of  breath.  At  seven  to-morrow  the  chaise  will  be  at  the 
door.  For  I  start  from  the  door,  Mackellar ;  I  do  not  skulk 
through  woods  and  take  my  chaise  upon  the  wayside — shall 
we  say,  at  Eagles?  " 

My  mind  was  now  thoroughly  made  up.  "  Can  you  spare 
me  a  quarter  of  an  hour  at  St.  Bride's  ?  "  said  I.  "  I  have  a 
little  necessary  business  with  Carlyle." 

"  An  hour,  if  you  prefer,"  said  he.  "  I  do  not  seek  to 
deny  that  the  money  for  your  seat  is  an  object  to  me;  and 
you  could  always  get  the  first  to  Glasgow  with  saddle-horses." 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  I  never  thought  to  leave  old  Scotland." 

te  It  will  brisken  you  up,"  says  he. 

"  This  will  be  an  ill  journey  for  some  one,"  I  said.  "  I 
think,  sir,  for  you.  Something  speaks  in  my  bosom;  and 
so  much  it  says  plain,  That  this  is  an  ill-omened  journey." 

"  If  you  take  to  prophecy,"  says  he,  "  listen  to  that." 

There  came  up  a  violent  squall  off  the  open  Solway,  and 
the  rain  was  dashed  on  the  great  windows. 

"  Do  ye  ken  what  that  bodes,  warlock  ? "  said  he,  in 
a  broad  accent :  "  that  there'll  be  a  man  Mackellar  unco 
sick  at  sea." 

When  I  got  to  my  chamber  I  sat  there  under  a  painful 
excitation,  hearkening  to  the  turmoil  of  the  gale  which 
struck  full  upon  that  gable  of  the  house.  What  with  the 
pressure  on  my  spirits,  the  eldritch  cries  of  the  wind  among 
the  turret  tops,  and  the  perpetual  trepidation  of  the  masoned 
house,  sleep  fled  my  eyelids  utterly.  I  sat  by  my  taper, 
looking  on  the  black  panes  of  the  window  where  the  storm 
appeared  continually  on  the  point  of  bursting  in  its  entrance ; 
and  upon  that  empty  field  I  beheld  a  perspective  of  conse- 
quences that  made  the  hair  to  rise  upon  my  scalp.  The  child 
corrupted,  the  home  broken  up,  my  master  dead  or  worse 
than  dead,  my  mistress  plunged  in  desolation — all  these  I 
saw  before  me  painted  brightly  on  the  darkness;  and  the 
outcry  of  the  wind  appeared  to  mock  at  my  inaction. 


MB.  MACKELLAB  s  JOTTBNEY  WITH  THE  MASTER 

THE  chaise  came  to  the  door  in  a  strong  drenching  mist. 
We  took  our  leave  in  silence:  the  house  of  Durrisdeer 
standing  with  drooping  gutters  and  windows  closed,  like  a 
place  dedicate  to  melancholy.  I  observed  the  Master  kept 
his  head  out,  looking  back  on  the  splashed  walls  and  glim- 
mering roofs,  till  they  were  suddenly  swallowed  in  the  mist; 
and  I  must  suppose  some  natural  sadness  fell  upon  the  man 
at  this  departure;  or  was  it  some  prevision  of  the  end? 
At  least,  upon  our  mounting  the  long  brae  from  Durris- 
deer, as  we  walked  side  by  side  in  the  wet,  he  began  first  to 
whistle  and  then  to  sing  the  saddest  of  our  country  tunes, 
which  sets  folk  weeping  in  a  tavern,  "  Wandering  Willie." 
The  set  of  words  he  used  with  it  I  have  not  heard  elsewhere, 
and  could  never  come  by  any  copy;  but  some  of  them 
which  were  the  most  appropriate  to  our  departure  linger  in 
my  memory.  One  verse  began: 

Home   was  home  then,  my  dear,  full  of  kindly   faces; 
Home  was  home  then,  my  dear,  happy  for  the  child. 

And  ended  somewhat  thus : 

Now,  when  day  dawns  on  the  brow  of  the  moorland, 
Lone  stands  the  house  and  the  chimney-stone  is  cold. 

Lone  let  it  stand,  now  the  folks  are  all  departed, 
The  kind  hearts,  the  true  hearts,  that  loved  the  place  of  old. 

I  could  never  be  a  judge  of  the  merit  of  these  verses;  they 
were  so  hallowed  by  the  melancholy  of  the  air,  and  were  sung 
(or  rather  "  soothed  ")  to  me  by  a  master  singer  at  a  time 
so  fitting.  He  looked  in  my  face  when  he  had  done,  and 
saw  that  my  eyes  watered. 

"  Ah,  Mackellar,"  said  he,  **  do  you  think  I  have  never  a 
regret?  " 

155 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

'*  I  do  not  think  you  could  be  so  bad  a  man,"  said  I,  "  if 
you  had  not  all  the  machinery  to  be  a  good  one." 

"  No,  not  all,"  says  he :  "  not  all.  You  are  there  in 
error.  The  malady  of  not  wanting,  my  evangelist."  But 
methought  he  sighed  as  he  mounted  again  into  the  chaise. 

All  day  long  we  journeyed  in  the  same  miserable  weather: 
the  mist  besetting  us  closely,  the  heavens  incessantly  weep- 
ing on  my  head.  The  road  lay  over  moorish  hills,  where  was 
no  sound  but  the  crying  of  the  moor-fowl  in  the  wet  heather 
and  the  pouring  of  the  swollen  burns.  Sometimes  I  would 
doze  off  in  slumber,  when  I  would  find  myself  plunged  at 
once  in  some  foul  and  ominous  nightmare,  from  the  which 
I  would  awaken  strangling.  Sometimes,  if  the  way  was 
steep  and  the  wheels  turning  slowly,  I  would  overhear  the 
voices  from  within,  talking  in  that  tropical  tongue  which 
was  to  me  as  inarticulate  as  the  piping  of  the  fowls.  Some- 
times, at  a  longer  ascent,  the  Master  would  set  foot  to  ground 
and  walk  by  my  side,  mostly  without  speech.  And  all  the 
time,  sleeping  or  waking,  I  beheld  the  same  black  perspective 
of  approaching  ruin;  and  the  same  pictures  rose  in  my 
view,  only  they  were  now  painted  upon  hill-side  mist.  One, 
I  remember,  stood  before  me  with  the  colors  of  a  true  illu- 
sion. It  showed  me  my  lord  seated  at  a  table  in  a  small 
room;  his  head,  which  was  at  first  buried  in  his  hands, 
he  slowly  raised,  and  turned  upon  me  a  countenance  from 
which  hope  had  fled.  I  saw  it  first  on  the  black  window 
panes,  my  last  night  in  Durrisdeer ;  it  haunted  and  returned 
upon  me  half  the  voyage  through;  and  yet  it  was  no  effect 
of  lunacy,  for  I  have  come  to  a  ripe  old  age  with  no  decay 
of  my  intelligence ;  nor  yet  (as  I  was  then  tempted  to  sup- 
pose) a  heaven-sent  warning  of  the  future,  for  all  manner 
of  calamities  befell,  not  that  calamity — and  I  saw  many 
pitiful  sights,  but  never  that  one. 

It  was  decided  we  should  travel  on  all  night;  and  it  was 
singular,  once  the  dusk  had  fallen,  my  spirits  somewhat 
rose.  The  bright  lamps,  shining  forth  into  the  mist  and  on 
the  smoking  horses  and  the  hodding  post-boy,  gave  me 
perhaps  an  outlook  intrinsically  more  cheerful  than  what 

156 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

day  had  shown;  or  perhaps  my  mind  had  become  wearied 
of  its  melancholy.  At  least,  I  spent  some  waking  hours, 
not  without  satisfaction  in  my  thoughts,  although  wet  and 
weary  in  my  body;  and  fell  at  last  into  a  natural  slumber 
without  dreams.  Yet  I  must  have  been  at  work  even  in  the 
deepest  of  my  sleep;  and  at  work  with  at  least  a  measure 
of  intelligence.  For  I  started  broad  awake,  in  the  very 
act  of  crying  out  to  myself. 

Home  was  home  then,  my  dear,  happy  for  the  child, 

stricken  to  find  in  it  an  appropriateness,  which  I  had  not 
yesterday  observed,  to  the  Master's  detestable  purpose  in 
the  present  journey. 

We  were  then  close  upon  the  city  of  Glasgow,  where  we 
were  soon  breakfasting  together  at  an  inn,  and  where  (as 
the  devil  would  have  it)  we  found  a  ship  in  the  very  article 
of  sailing.  We  took  places  in  the  cabin;  and,  two  days 
after,  carried  our  effects  on  board.  Her  name  was  the  None- 
such,  a  very  ancient  ship  and  very  happily  named.  By 
all  accounts  this  should  be  her  last  voyage;  people  shook 
their  heads  upon  the  quays,  and  I  had  several  warnings 
offered  me  by  strangers  in  the  street,  to  the  effect  that 
she  was  rotten  as  a  cheese,  too  deeply  loaden,  and  must 
infallibly  founder  if  we  met  a  gale.  From  this  it  fell  out 
we  were  the  only  passengers;  the  captain,  McMurtrie,  was 
a  silent,  absorbed  man  with  the  Glasgow  or  Gaelic  accent; 
the  mates  ignorant,  rough  seafarers,  come  in  through  the 
hawsehole ;  and  the  master  and  I  were  cast  upon  each  other's 
company. 

The  Nonesuch  carried  a  fair  wind  out  of  the  Clyde,  and 
for  near  upon  a  week  we  enjoyed  bright  weather  and  a 
sense  of  progress.  I  found  myself  (to  my  wonder)  a  born 
seaman,  in  so  far  at  least  as  I  was  never  sick ;  yet  I  was  far 
from  tasting  the  usual  serenity  of  my  health.  Whether  it 
was  the  motion  of  the  ship  on  the  billows,  the  confinement, 
the  salted  food,  or  all  of  these  together,  I  suffered  from  a 
blackness  of  spirit  and  a  gainful  strain  upon  my  temper. 

157 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

The  nature  of  my  errand  on  that  ship  perhaps  contributed; 
I  think  it  did  no  more:  the  malady  (whatever  it  was)  sprung 
from  my  environment;  and  if  the  ship  were  not  to  blame, 
then  it  was  the  Master.  Hatred  and  fear  are  ill  bedfellows ; 
but  (to  my  shame  be  it  spoken)  I  have  tasted  those  in  other 
places,  lain  down  and  got  up  with  them,  and  eaten  and 
drunk  with  them,  and  yet  never  before,  nor  after,  have  I 
been  so  poisoned  through  and  through,  in  soul  and  body, 
as  I  was  on  board  the  Nonesuch.  I  freely  confess  my  enemy 
set  me  a  fair  example  of  forbearance;  in  our  worst  days 
displayed  the  most  patient  geniality,  holding  me  in  con- 
versation as  long  as  I  would  suffer,  and  when  I  had  rebuffed 
his  civility,  stretching  himself  on  deck  to  read.  The  book 
he  had  on  board  with  him  was  Mr.  Richardson's  famous 
"  Clarissa  " ;  and  among  other  small  attentions  he  would 
read  me  passages  aloud;  nor  could  any  elocutionist  have 
given  with  greater  potency  the  pathetic  portions  of  that  work. 
I  would  retort  upon  him  with  passages  out  of  the  Bible,  which 
was  all  my  library — and  very  fresh  to  me,  my  religious  duties 
(I  grieve  to  say  it)  being  always  and  even  to  this  day  ex- 
tremely neglected.  He  tasted  the  merits  of  the  work  like 
the  connoisseur  he  was;  and  would  sometimes  take  it  from 
my  hand,  turn  the  leaves  over  like  a  man  that  knew  his  way, 
and  give  me,  with  his  fine  declamation,  a  Roland  for  my 
Oliver.  But  it  was  singular  how  little  he  applied  his  reading 
to  himself ;  it  passed  high  above  his  head  like  summer  thun- 
der: Lovelace  and  Clarissa,  the  tales  of  David's  generosity, 
the  psalms  of  his  penitence,  the  solemn  questions  of  the 
book  of  Job,  the  touching  poetry  of  Isaiah — they  were  to 
him  a  source  of  entertainment  only,  like  the  scraping  of 
a  fiddle  in  a  change-house.  This  outer  sensibility  and  inner 
toughness  set  me  against  him ;  it  seemed  of  a  piece  with  that 
impudent  grossness  which  I  knew  to  underlie  the  veneer  of 
his  fine  manners ;  and  sometimes  my  gorge  rose  against  him 
as  though  he  were  deformed — and  sometimes  I  would  draw 
away  as  though  from  something  partly  spectral.  I  had  mo- 
ments when  I  thought  of  him  as  of  a  man  of  pasteboard — 
as  though,  if  one  should  strike  smartly  through  the  buckram 

158 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

of  his  countenance,  there  would  be  found  a  mere  vacuity 
within.  This  horror  (not  merely  fanciful,  I  think)  vastly 
increased  my  detestation  of  his  neighborhood;  I  began  to 
feel  something  shiver  within  me  on  his  drawing  near;  I 
had  at  times  a  longing  to  cry  out;  there  were  days  when  I 
thought  I  could  have  struck  him.  This  frame  of  mind  was 
doubtless  helped  by  shame,  because  I  had  dropped  during 
our  last  days  at  Durrisdeer  into  a  certain  toleration  of  the 
man;  and  if  any  one  had  then  told  me  I  should  drop  into 
it  again,  I  must  have  laughed  in  his  face.  It  is  possible  he 
remained  unconscious  of  this  extreme  fever  of  my  resentment ; 
yet  I  think  he  was  too  quick ;  and  rather  that  he  had  fallen, 
in  a  long  life  of  idleness,  into  a  positive  need  of  company 
which  obliged  him  to  confront  and  tolerate  my  unconcealed 
aversion.  Certain  at  least,  that  he  loved  the  note  of  his 
own  tongue,  as  indeed  he  entirely  loved  all  the  parts  and 
properties  of  himself:  a  sort  of  imbecility  which  almost 
necessarily  attends  on  wickedness.  I  have  seen  him  driven, 
when  I  proved  recalcitrant,  to  long  discourses  with  the  skip- 
per: and  this,  although  the  man  plainly  testified  his  weari- 
ness, fiddling  miserably  with  both  hand  and  foot,  and 
replying  only  with  a  grunt. 

After  the  first  week  out  we  fell  in  with  foul  winds  and 
heavy  weather.  The  sea  was  high.  The  Nonesuch,  being 
an  old-fashioned  ship  and  badly  loaden,  rolled  beyond  belief ; 
so  that  the  skipper  trembled  for  his  masts  and  I  for  my  life. 
We  made  no  progress  on  pur  course.  An  unbearable  ill- 
humor  settled  on  the  ship;  men,  mates  and  master,  girding 
at  one  another  all  day  long.  A  saucy  word  on  the  one  hand, 
and  a  blow  on  the  other,  made  a  daily  incident.  There  were 
times  when  the  whole  crew  refused  their  duty;  and  we  of 
the  after-guard  were  twice  got  under  arms  (being  the  first 
time  that  ever  I  bore  weapons)  in  the  fear  of  mutiny. 

In  the  midst  of  our  evil  season  sprung  up  a  hurricane  of 
wind;  so  that  all  supposed  she  must  go  down.  I  was  shut 
in  the  cabin  from  noon  of  one  day  till  sundown  of  the  next ; 
the  Master  was  somewhere  lashed  on  deck.  Secundra  had 
»aten  of  some  drug  and  lay  insensible;  so  you  may  say  I 

159 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

passed  these  hours  in  an  unbroken  solitude.  At  first  I  was 
terrified  beyond  motion  and  almost  beyond  thought,  my  mind 
appearing  to  be  frozen.  Presently  there  stole  in  on  me  a 
ray  of  comfort.  If  the  Nonesuch  foundered,  she  would  carry 
down  with  her  into  the  deeps  of  that  unsounded  sea  the 
creature  whom  we  all  so  feared  and  hated;  there  would  be 
no  more  Master  of  Ballantrae,  the  fish  would  sport  among 
his  ribs;  his  schemes  all  brought  to  nothing,  his  harmless 
enemies  at  peace.  At  first,  I  have  said,  it  was  but  a  ray 
of  comfort;  but  it  had  soon  grown  to  be  broad  sunshine. 
The  thought  of  the  man's  death,  of  his  deletion  from  this 
world  which  he  imbittered  for  so  many,  took  possession  of 
my  mind.  I  hugged  it,  I  found  it  sweet  in  my  belly.  I 
conceived  the  ship's  last  plunge,  the  sea  bursting  upon  all 
sides  into  the  cabin,  the  brief  mortal  conflict  there,  all  by 
myself,  in  that  closed  place;  I  numbered  the  horrors,  I  had 
almost  said  with  satisfaction;  I  felt  I  could  bear  all  and 
more,  if  the  Nonesuch  carried  down  with  her,  overtook  by 
the  same  ruin,  the  enemy  of  my  poor  master's  house.  Toward 
noon  of  the  second  day  the  screaming  of  the  wind  abated; 
the  ship  lay  not  so  perilously  over;  and  it  began  to  be 
clear  to  me  that  we  were  past  the  height  of  the  tempest. 
As  I  hope  for  mercy,  I  was  singly  disappointed.  In  the 
selfishness  of  that  vile,  absorbing  passion  of  hatred,  I  forgot 
the  case  of  our  innocent  shipmates  and  thought  but  of  my- 
self and  my  enemy.  For  myself,  I  was  already  old,  I  had 
never  been  young,  I  was  not  formed  for  the  world's  pleas- 
ures, I  had  few  affections;  it  mattered  not  the  toss  of  a 
silver  tester  whether  I  was  drowned  there  and  then  in  the 
Atlantic,  or  dribbled  out  a  few  more  years,  to  die,  perhaps 
no  less  terribly,  in  a  deserted  sick-bed.  Down  I  went  upon 
my  knees — holding  on  by  the  locker,  or  else  I  had  been  in- 
stantly dashed  across  the  tossing  cabin — and,  lifting  up  my 
voice  in  the  midst  of  that  clamor  of  the  abating  hurricane, 
impiously  prayed  for  my  own  death.  "  Oh,  God,"  I  cried, 
"  I  would  be  liker  a  man  if  I  rose  and  struck  this  creature 
down;  but  thou  madest  me  a  coward  from  my  mother's 
womb.  Oh,  Lord,  thou  madest  me  so,  thou  knowest  my 

160 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

weakness,  thou  knowest  that  any  face  of  death  will  set  me 
shaking  in  my  shoes.  But  lo !  here  is  thy  servant  ready, 
his  mortal  weakness  laid  aside.  Let  me  give  my  life  for  this 
creature's ;  take  the  two  of  them,  Lord !  take  the  two,  and 
have  mercy  on  the  innocent ! "  In  some  such  words  as 
these,  only  yet  more  irreverent  and  with  more  sacred  ad- 
jurations, I  continued  to  pour  forth  my  spirit;  God  heard 
me  not,  I  must  suppose  in  mercy;  and  I  was  still  absorbed 
in  my  agony  of  supplication,  when  some  one,  removing  the 
tarpaulin  cover,  let  the  light  of  the  sunset  pour  into  the 
cabin.  I  stumbled  to  my  feet  ashamed,  and  was  seized  with 
surprise  to  find  myself  totter  and  ache  like  one  that  had 
been  stretched  upon  the  rack.  Secundra  Dass,  who  had  slept 
off  the  effects  of  his  drug,  stood  in  a  corner  not  far  off, 
gazing  at  me  with  wild  eyes;  and  from  the  open  skylight 
the  captain  thanked  me  for  my  supplications. 

"  It's  you  that  saved  the  ship,  Mr.  Mackellar,"  says  he. 
"  There  is  no  craft  of  seamanship  that  could  have  kept 
her  floating :  well  may  we  say :  '  Except  the  Lord  the  city 
keep,  the  watchman  watch  in  vain ! ' ; 

I  was  abashed  by  the  captain's  error;  abashed,  also,  by 
the  surprise  and  fear  with  which  the  Indian  regarded  me 
at  first,  and  the  obsequious  civilities  with  which  he  soon 
began  to  cumber  me.  I  know  now  that  he  must  have  over- 
heard and  comprehended  the  peculiar  nature  of  my  prayers. 
It  is  certain,  of  course,  that  he  at  once  disclosed  the  matter 
to  his  patron ;  and  looking  back  with  greater  knowledge, 
I  can  now  understand,  what  so  much  puzzled  me  at  the 
moment,  those  singular  and  (so  to  speak)  approving  smiles 
with  which  the  Master  honored  me.  Similarly,  I  can  under- 
stand a  word  that  I  remember  to  have  fallen  from  him  in 
conversation  that  same  night;  when,  holding  up  his  hand 
and  smiling,  "  Ah,  Mackellar,"  said  he,  "  not  every  man 
is  so  great  a  coward  as  he  thinks  he  is — nor  yet  so  good 
a  Christian."  He  did  not  guess  how  true  he  spoke!  For 
the  fact  is,  the  thoughts  which  had  come  to  me  in  the  violence 
of  the  storm  retained  their  hold  upon  my  spirit;  and  the 
words  that  rose  to  my  Jijs  unbidden  in  the  instancy  of  prayer 

161 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

continued  to  sound  in  my  ears:  With  what  shameful  conse- 
quences, it  is  fitting  I  should  honestly  relate;  for  I  could 
not  support  a  part  of  such  disloyalty  as  to  describe  the 
sins  of  others  and  conceal  my  own. 

The  wind  fell,  but  the  sea  hove  ever  the  higher.  All  night 
the  Nonesuch  rolled  outrageously;  the  next  day  dawned, 
and  the  next,  and  brought  no  change.  To  cross  the  cabin 
was  scarce  possible ;  old,  experienced  seamen  were  cast  down 
upon  the  deck,  and  one  cruelly  mauled  in  the  concussion ; 
every  board  and  block  in  the  old  ship  cried  out  aloud ;  and 
the  great  bell  by  the  anchor-bitts  continually  and  dolefully 
rang.  One  of  these  days  the  master  and  I  sate  alone  to- 
gether at  the  break  of  the  poop.  I  should  say  the  Nonesuch 
carried  a  high,  raised  poop.  About  the  top  of  it  ran  con- 
siderable bulwarks,  which  made  the  ship  unweatherly;  and 
these,  as  they  approached  the  front  on  each  side,  ran  down 
in  a  fine,  old-fashioned,  carven  scroll  to  join  the  bulwarks 
of  the  waist.  From  this  disposition,  which  seems  designed 
rather  for  ornament  than  use,  it  followed  there  was  a  dis- 
continuance of  protection:  and  that,  besides,  at  the  very 
margin  of  the,  elevated  part  where  (in  certain  movements  of 
the  ship)  it  might  be  the  most  needful.  It  was  here  we  were 
sitting:  our  feet  hanging  down,  the  master  betwixt  me  and 
the  side,  and  I  holding  on  with  both  hands  to  the  grating 
of  the  cabin  skylight;  for  it  struck  me  it  was  a  dangerous 
position,  the  more  so  as  I  had  continually  before  my  eyes  a 
measure  of  our  evolutions  in  the  person  of  the  Master,  which 
stood  out  in  the  break  of  the  bulwarks  against  the  sun. 
Now  his  head  would  be  in  the  zenith  and  his  shadow  fall  quite 
beyond  the  Nonesuch  on  the  further  side ;  and  now  he  would 
swing  down  till  he  was  underneath  my  feet,  and  the  line  of 
the  sea  leaped  high  above  him  like  the  ceiling  of  a  room.  I 
looked  on  upon  this  with  a  growing  fascination,  as  birds  are 
said  to  look  on  snakes.  My  mind  besides  was  troubled  with 
an  astonishing  diversity  of  noises;  for  now  that  we  had 
all  sails  spread  in  the  vain  hope  to  bring  her  to  the  sea,  the 
ship  sounded  like  a  factory  with  their  reverberations.  We 
spoke  first  of  the  mutiny  with  which  we  had  been  threatened ; 

162 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

this  led  us  on  to  the  topic  of  assassination ;  and  that  offered 
a  temptation  to  the  Master  more  strong  than  he  was  able  to 
resist.  He  must  tell  me  a  tale,  and  show  me  at  the  same 
time  how  clever  he  was  and  how  wicked.  It  was  a  thing 
he  did  always  with  affectation  and  display ;  generally  with  a 
good  effect.  But  this  tale,  told  in  a  high  key  in  the  midst 
of  so  great  a  tumult,  and  by  a  narrator  who  was  one  mo- 
ment looking  down  at  me  from  the  skies  and  the  next  peering 
up  from  under  the  soles  of  my  feet — this  particular  tale, 
I  say,  took  hold  upon  me  in  a  degree  quite  singular. 

"  My  friend  the  count,"  it  was  thus  that  he  began  his 
story,  "  had  for  an  enemy  a  certain  German  baron,  a 
stranger  in  Rome.  It  matters  not  what  was  the  ground  of 
the  count's  enmity;  but  as  he  had  a  firm  design  to  be  re- 
venged, and  that  with  safety  to  himself,  he  kept  it  secret  even 
from  the  baron.  Indeed  that  is  the  first  principle  of  venge- 
ance; and  hatred  betrayed  is  hatred  impotent.  The  count 
was  a  man  of  a  curious,  searching  mind;  he  had  something 
of  the  artist ;  if  anything  fall  for  him  to  do,  it  must  always 
be  done  with  an  exact  perfection,  not  only  as  to  the  result 
but  in  the  very  means  and  instruments,  or  he  thought  the 
thing  miscarried.  It  chanced  he  was  one  day  riding  in  the 
outer  suburbs,  when  he  came  to  a  disused  byroad  branching 
off  into  the  moor  which  lies  about  Rome.  On  the  one  hand 
was  an  ancient  Roman  tomb;  on  the  other  a  deserted  house 
in  a  garden  of  evergreen  trees.  This  road  brought  him 
presently  into  a  field  of  ruins,  in  the  midst  of  which,  in  the 
side  of  a  hill,  he  saw  an  open  door  and  (not  far  off)  a  single 
stunted  pine  no  greater  than  a  currant  bush.  The  place 
was  desert  and  very  secret:  a  voice  spoke  in  the  count's 
bosom  that  there  was  something  here  to  his  advantage.  He 
tied  his  horse  to  the  pine  tree,  took  his  flint  and  steel  in 
his  hand  to  make  a  light,  and  entered  into  the  hill.  The 
doorway  opened  on  a  passage  of  old  Roman  masonry,  which 
shortly  after  branched  in  two.  The  count  took  the  turning 
to  the  right,  and  followed  it,  groping  forward  in  the  dark, 
till  he  was  brought  up  by  a  kind  of  fence  about  elbow-high, 
which  extended  quite  across  the  passage.  Sounding  for- 

163 


ward  with  his  foot,  he  found  an  edge  of  polished  stone,  and 
then  vacancy.  All  his  curiosity  was  now  awakened,  and, 
getting  some  rotten  sticks  that  lay  about  the  floor,  he  made 
a  fire.  In  front  of  him  was  a  profound  well :  doubtless  some 
neighboring  peasant  had  once  used  it  for  his  water,  and  it 
was  he  that  had  set  up  the  fence.  A  long  while  the  count 
stood  leaning  on  the  rail  and  looking  down  into  the  pit. 
It  was  of  Roman  foundation,  and,  like  all  that  nation  set 
their  hands  to,  built  as  for  eternity:  the  sides  were  still 
straight  and  the  joints  smooth;  to  a  man  who  should  fall 
in,  no  escape  was  possible.  *  Now,'  the  count  was  think- 
ing, *  a  strong  impulsion  brought  me  to  this  place :  what 
for?  what  have  I  gained?  why  should  I  be  sent  to  gaze  into 
this  well  ?  ' — when  the  rail  of  the  fence  gave  suddenly,  under 
his  weight,  and  he  came  within  an  ace  of  falling  headlong 
in.  Leaping  back  to  save  himself,  he  trod  out  the  last 
flicker  of  his  fire,  which  gave  him  thenceforward  no  more 
light,  only  an  incommoding  smoke.  '  Was  I  sent  here  to 
my  death?  5  says  he,  and  shook  from  head  to  foot.  And  then 
a  thought  flashed  in  his  mind.  He  crept  forth  on  hands 
and  knees  to  the  brink  of  the  pit  and  felt  above  him  in  the 
air.  The  rail  had  been  fast  to  a  pair  of  uprights;  it  had 
only  broken  from  the  one,  and  still  depended  from  the 
other.  The  count  set  it  back  again  as  he  had  found  it,  so 
that  the  place  meant  death  to  the  first  comer,  and  groped 
out  of  the  catacomb  like  a  sick  man.  The  next  day,  riding 
in  the  Corso  with  the  baron,  he  purposely  betrayed  a  strong 
preoccupation.  The  other  (as  he  had  designed)  inquired  into 
the  cause;  and  he  (after  some  fencing)  admitted  that  his 
spirits  had  been  dashed  by  an  unusual  dream.  This  was 
calculated  to  draw  on  the  baron — a  superstitious  man  who 
affected  the  scorn  of  superstition.  Some  rallying  followed; 
and  then  the  count  (as  if  suddenly  carried  away)  called  on 
his  friend  to  beware,  for  it  was  of  him  that  he  had  dreamed. 
You  know  enough  of  human  nature,  my  excellent  Mackellar, 
to  be  certain  of  one  thing:  I  mean,  that  the  baron  did  not 
rest  till  he  had  heard  the  dream.  The  count  (sure  that  he 
would  never  desist)  kept  him  in  play  till  his  curiosity  was 

164 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

highly  inflamed,  and  then  suffered  himself  with  seeming 
reluctance  to  be  overborne.  '  I  warn  you,'  says  he,  *  evil  will 
come  of  it;  something  tells  me  so.  But  since  there  is  to 
be  no  peace  either  for  you  or  me  except  on  this  condition, 
the  blame  be  on  your  own  head!  This  was  the  dream.  I 
beheld  you  riding,  I  know  not  where,  yet  I  think  it  must  have 
been  near  Rome,  for  on  your  one  hand  was  an  ancient  tomb 
and  on  the  other  a  garden  of  evergreen  trees.  Methought 
I  cried  and  cried  upon  you  to  come  back  in  a  very  agony 
of  terror ;  whether  you  heard  me,  I  know  not,  but  you  went 
doggedly  on.  The  road  brought  you  to  a  desert  place  among 
ruins :  where  was  a  door  in  a  hillside,  and  hard  by  the  door 
a  misbegotten  pine.  Here  you  dismounted  (I  still  crying 
on  you  to  beware),  tied  your  horse  to  the  pine  tree,  and 
entered  resolutely  in  by  the  door.  Within  it  was  dark ;  but 
in  my  dream  I  could  still  see  you,  and  still  besought  you  to 
hold  back.  You  felt  your  way  along  the  right-hand  wall, 
took  a  branching  passage  to  the  right,  and  came  to  a  little 
chamber,  where  was  a  well  with  a  railing.  At  this  (I  know 
not  why)  my  alarm  for  you  increased  a  thousand-fold,  so 
that  I  seemed  to  scream  myself  hoarse  with  warnings,  crying 
it  was  still  time  and  bidding  you  begone  at  once  from  that 
vestibule.  Such  was  the  word  I  used  in  my  dream,  and  it 
seemed  then  to  have  a  clear  significancy ;  but  to-day  and 
awake,  I  profess  I  know  not  what  it  means.  To  all  my 
outcry  you  rendered  not  the  least  attention,  leaning  the 
while  upon  the  rail  and  looking  down  intently  in  the  water. 
And  then  there  was  made  to  you  a  communication,  I  do  not 
think  I  even  gathered  what  it  was,  but  the  fear  of  it  plucked 
me  clean  out  of  my  slumber,  and  I  awoke  shaking  and  sob- 
bing. And  now,'  continues  the  count,  '  I  thank  you  from 
my  heart  for  your  insistency.  This  dream  lay  on  me  like 
a  load ;  and  now  I  have  told  it  in  plain  words  and  in  the  broad 
daylight,  it  seems  no  great  matter.'  *  I  do  not  know,'  says 
the  baron.  '  It  is  in  some  points  strange.  A  communica- 
tion, did  you  say?  Oh,  it  is  an  odd  dream.  It  will  make  a 
story  to  amuse  our  friends.'  '  I  am  not  so  sure,'  says  the 
count.  '  I  am  sensible  of  some  reluctancy.  Let  us  rather 

165 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

forget  it.'  *  By  all  means,'  says  the  baron.  And  (in  fact) 
the  dream  was  not  again  referred  to.  Some  days  after  the 
count  proposed  a  ride  in  the  fields,  which  the  baron  (since 
they  were  daily  growing  faster  friends)  very  readily  ac- 
cepted. On  the  way  back  to  Rome  the  count  led  them  in- 
sensibly by  a  particular  route.  Presently  he  reined  in  his 
horse,  clapped  his  hand  before  his  eyes,  and  cried  out  aloud. 
Then  he  showed  his  face  again  (which  was  now  quite  white, 
for  he  was  a  consummate  actor)  and  stared  upon  the  baron. 
'  What  ails  you?  '  cries  the  baron.  *  What  is  wrong  with 
you?  '  '  Nothing,'  cries  the  count,  *  It  is  nothing.  A  seizure, 
I  know  not  what.  Let  us  hurry  back  to  Rome.'  But  in  the 
meanwhile  the  baron  had  looked  about  him ;  and  there,  on 
the  left-hand  side  of  the  way  as  they  went  back  to  Rome,  he 
saw  a  dusty  by-road  with  a  tomb  upon  the  one  hand  and  a 
garden  of  evergreen  trees  upon  the  other.  *  Yes,'  says  he, 
with  a  changed  voice.  *  Let  us  by  all  means  hurry  back  to 
Rome.  I  fear  you  are  not  well  in  health.'  *  Oh,  for  God's 
sake ! '  cries  the  count,  shuddering.  '  Back  to  Rome  and 
let  me  get  to  bed.'  They  made  their  return  with  scarce  a 
word;  and  the  count,  who  should  by  rights  have  gone  into 
society,  took  to  his  bed  and  gave  out  he  had  a  touch  of 
country  fever.  The  next  day  the  baron's  horse  was  found 
tied  to  the  pine,  but  himself  was  never  heard  of  from  that 
hour.  And  now,  was  that  a  murder  ? "  says  the  Master, 
breaking  sharply  off. 

"  Are  you  sure  he  was  a  count  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  am  not  certain  of  the  title,"  said  he,  "  but  he  was  a 
gentleman  of  family,  and  the  Lord  deliver  you,  Mackellar, 
from  an  enemy  so  subtle ! " 

These  last  words  he  spoke  down  at  me  smiling,  from  high 
above;  the  next  he  was  under  my  feet.  I  continued  to  fol- 
low his  evolutions  with  a  childish  fixity ;  they  made  me  giddy 
and  vacant,  and  I  spoke  as  in  a  dream. 

"  He  hated  the  baron  with  a  great  hatred?  "  I  asked. 

"  His  belly  moved  when  the  man  came  near  him,"  said  the 
Master. 

"  I  have  felt  that  same,"  said  I. 

166 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Verily !  "  cried  the  Master.  "  Here  is  news  indeed !  I 
wonder — do  I  flatter  myself?  or  am  I  the  cause  of  these 
ventral  perturbations?  " 

He  was  quite  capable  of  choosing  out  a  graceful  posture, 
even  with  no  one  to  behold  him  but  myself,  and  all  the  more 
if  there  were  any  element  of  peril.  He  sat  now  with  one 
knee  flung  across  the  other,  his  arms  on  his  bosom,  fitting 
the  swing  of  the  ship  with  an  exquisite  balance,  such  as  a 
feather-weight  might  overthrow.  All  at  once  I  had  the  vision 
of  my  lord  at  the  table  with  his  head  upon  his  hands ;  only 
now,  when  he  showed  me  his  countenance,  it  was  heavy  with 
reproach.  The  words  of  my  own  prayer — I  were  liker  a 
man  if  I  struck  this  creature  down — shot  at  the  same  time 
into  my  memory,  I  called  my  energies  together,  and  (the 
ship  then  heeling  downward  toward  my  enemy)  thrust  at 
him  swiftly  with  my  foot.  It  was  written  I  should  have  the 
guilt  of  this  attempt  without  the  profit.  Whether  from  my 
own  uncertainty  or  his  incredible  quickness,  he  escaped  the 
thrust,  leaping  to  his  feet  and  catching  hold  at  the  same 
moment  of  a  stay. 

I  do  not  know  how  long  a  time  passed  by:  I  lying  where 
I  was  upon  the  deck,  overcome  with  terror  and  remorse  and 
shame :  he  standing  with  the  stay  in  his  hand,  backed  against 
the  bulwarks,  and  regarding  me  with  an  expression  singu- 
larly mingled.  At  last  he  spoke. 

"  Mackellar,"  said  he,  "  I  make  no  reproaches,  but  I 
offer  you  a  bargain.  On  your  side,  I  do  not  suppose  you 
desire  to  have  this  exploit  made  public;  on  mine,  I  own  to 
you  freely,  I  do  not  care  to  draw  my  breath  in  a  perpetual 
terror  of  assassination  by  the  man  I  sit  at  meat  with.  Prom- 
ise me — but  no,"  says  he,  breaking  off,  "  you  are  not  yet 
in  the  quiet  possession  of  your  mind ;  you  might  think  I  had 
extorted  the  promise  from  your  weakness ;  and  I  would  leave 
no  door  open  for  casuistry  to  come  in — that  dishonesty 
of  the  conscientious.  Take  time  to  meditate." 

With  that  he  made  off  up  the  sliding  deck  like  a  squirrel 
and  plunged  into  the  cabin.  About  half  an  hour  later  he 
returned :  I  still  lying  as  he  had  left  me. 

167 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Now,"  says  he,  "  will  you  give  me  your  troth  as  a 
Christian  and  a  faithful  servant  of  my  brother's  that  I  shall 
have  no  more  to  fear  from  your  attempts-?  " 

"  I  give  it  you,"  said  I. 

"  I  shall  require  your  hand  upon  it,"  says  he. 

"  You  have  the  right  to  make  conditions,"  I  replied,  and 
we  shook  hands. 

He  sat  down  at  once  in  the  same  place  and  the  old  perilous 
attitude. 

"  Hold  on !  "  cried  I,  covering  my  eyes.  "  I  cannot  bear 
to  see  you  in  that  posture.  The  least  irregularity  of  the 
sea  might  plunge  you  overboard." 

"  You  are  highly  inconsistent,"  he  replied,  smiling,  but 
doing  as  I  asked.  "  For  all  that,  Mackellar,  I  would  have 
you  to  know  you  have  risen  forty  feet  in  my  esteem.  You 
think  I  cannot  set  a  price  upon  fidelity?  But  why  do  you 
suppose  I  carry  that  Secundra  Dass  about  the  world  with 
me?  Because  he  would  die  or  do  murder  for  me  to-morrow; 
and  I  love  him  for  it.  Well,  you  may  think  it  odd,  but 
I  like  you  the  better  for  this  afternoon's  performance.  I 
thought  you  were  magnetized  with  the  Ten  Commandments ; 
but  no — -God  damn  my  soul ! "  he  cries,  "  the  old  wife  has 
blood  in  his  body  after  all !  which  does  not  change  the  fact," 
he  continued,  smiling  again,  "  that  you  have  done  well  to 
give  your  promise;  for  I  doubt  if  you  would  ever  shine  in 
your  new  trade." 

"  I  suppose,"  said  I,  "  I  should  ask  your  pardon  and  God's 
for  my  attempt.  At  any  rate  I  have  passed  my  word,  which 
I  will  keep  faithfully.  But  when  I  think  of  those  you  perse- 
cute— "  I  paused. 

"  Life  is  a  singular  thing,"  said  he,  "  and  mankind  a  very 
singular  people.  You  suppose  yourself  to  love  my  brother. 
I  assure  you  it  is  merely  custom.  Interrogate  your  memory ; 
and  when  first  you  came  to  Durrisdeer,  you  will  find  you 
considered  him  a  dull,  ordinary  youth.  He  is  as  dull  and  or- 
dinary now,  though  not  so  young.  Had  you  instead  fallen 
in  with  me,  you  would  to-day  be  as  strong  upon  my  side." 

"I  would  never  say  you  were  ordinary,  Mr.  Bally,"  I 

168 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

returned;  "but  here  you  prove  yourself  dull.  You  have 
just  shown  your  reliance  on  my  word.  In  other  terms,  that 
is  my  conscience — the  same  which  starts  instinctively  back 
from  you,  like  the  eye  from  a  strong  light." 

"  Ah !  "  says  he,  "  but  I  mean  otherwise.  I  mean,  had  I 
met  you  in  my  youth.  You  are  to  consider  I  was  not  always 
as  I  am  to-day;  nor  (had  I  met  in  with  a  friend  of  your 
description)  should  I  have  ever  been  so." 

"  Hut,  Mr.  Bally,"  says  I,  "  you  would  have  made  a 
mock  of  me ;  you  would  never  have  spent  ten  civil  words  on 
such  a  squaretoes." 

But  he  was  now  fairly  started  on  his  new  course  of  justi- 
fication, with  which  he  wearied  me  throughout  the  remainder 
of  the  passage.  No  doubt  in  the  past  he  had  taken  pleasure 
to  paint  himself  unnecessarily  black,  and  made  a  vaunt  of 
his  wickedness,  bearing  it  for  a  coat  of  arms.  Nor  was  he 
so  illogical  as  to  abate  one  item  of  his  old  confessions.  "  But 
now  that  I  know  you  are  a  human  being,"  he  would  say, 
"  I  can  take  the  trouble  to  explain  myself.  For  I  assure  you 
I  am  human  too,  and  have  my  virtues  like  my  neighbors." 
I  say  he  wearied  me,  for  I  had  only  the  one  word  to  say 
in  answer :  twenty  times  I  must  have  said  it :  "  Give  up  your 
present  purpose  and  return  with  me  to  Durrisdeer;  then  I 
will  believe  you." 

Thereupon  he  would  shake  his  head  at  me.  "  Ah,  Mac- 
kellar,  you  might  live  a  thousand  years  and  never  under- 
stand my  nature,"  he  would  say.  "  This  battle  is  now 
committed,  the  hour  of  reflection  quite  past,  the  hour  for 
mercy  not  yet  come.  It  began  between  us  when  we  span  a  coin 
in  the  hall  of  Durrisdeer  now  twenty  years  ago ;  we  have  had 
our  ups  and  downs,  but  never  either  of  us  dreamed  of  giving 
in,  and  as  for  me,  when  my  glove  is  cast  life  and  honor  go 
with  it." 

"  A  fig  for  your  honor ! "  I  would  say.  "  And  by  your 
leave,  these  warlike  similitudes  are  something  too  high-sound- 
ing for  the  matter  in  hand.  You  want  some  dirty  money, 
there  is  the  bottom  of  your  contention,  and  as  for  your 
means,  what  are  they? — to  stir  up  sorrow  in  a  family  that 

169 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

never  harmed  you,  to  debauch  (if  you  can)  your  own  born 
nephew  and  to  wring  the  heart  of  your  born  brother!  A 
foot-pad  that  kills  an  old  granny  in  a  woolen  mutch  with  a 
dirty  bludgeon,  and  that  for  a  shilling-piece  and  a  paper 
of  snuff — there  is  all  the  warrior  that  you  are." 

When  I  would  attack  him  thus  (or  somewhat  thus)  he 
would  smile  and  sigh  like  a  man  misunderstood.  Once  I  re- 
member, he  defended  himself  more  at  large  and  had  some 
curious  sophistries,  worth  repeating  for  a  light  upon  his 
character. 

"  You  are  very  like  a  civilian  to  think  war  consists  in 
drums  and  banners,"  said  he.  "  War  (as  the  ancients  said 
very  wisely)  is  ultima  ratio.  When  we  take  our  advantage 
unrelentingly,  then  we  make  war.  Ah,  Mackellar,  you  are  a 
devil  of  a  soldier  in  the  steward's  room  at  Durrisdeer,  or  the 
tenants  do  you  sad  injustice!  " 

"  I  think  little  of  what  war  is  or  is  not,"  I  replied.  "  But 
you  weary  me  with  claiming  my  respect.  Your  brother  is 
a  good  man,  and  you  are  a  bad  one — neither  more  nor  less.'* 

"  Had  I  been  Alexander — "  he  began. 

"  It  is  so  we  all  dupe  ourselves,"  I  cried.  "  Had  I  been 
St.  Paul,  it  would  have  been  all  one ;  I  would  have  made  the 
same  hash  of  that  career  that  you  now  see  me  making  of 
my  own." 

"  I  tell  you,"  he  cried,  bearing  down  my  interruption, 
"  had  I  been  the  least  petty  chieftain  in  the  highlands,  had 
I  been  the  least  king  of  naked  negroes  in  the  African  desert, 
my  people  would  have  adored  me.  A  bad  man,  am  I?  Ah, 
but  I  was  born  for  a  good  tyrant!  Ask  Secundra  Dass; 
he  will  tell  you  I  treat  him  like  a  son.  Cast  in  your  lot 
with  me  to-morrow,  become  my  slave,  my  chattel,  a  thing 
I  can  command  as  I  command  the  powers  of  my  own  limbs 
and  spirit — you  will  see  no  more  that  dark  side  that  I  turn 
upon  the  world  in  anger.  I  must  have  all  or  none.  But 
where  all  is  given,  I  give  it  back  with  usury.  I  have  a 
kingly  nature :  there  is  my  loss !  " 

"  It  has  been  hitherto  rather  the  loss  of  others,"  I  re- 
marked ;  "  which  seems  a  little  on  the  hither  side  of  royalty." 

170 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAJS 

"  Tilly  vally !  "  cried  he.  "  Even  now,  I  tell  you  I  would 
spare  that  family  in  which  you  take  so  great  an  interest: 
yes,  even  now — to-morrow  I  would  leave  them  to  their  petty 
welfare,  and  disappear  in  that  forest  of  cutthroats  and  thim- 
bleriggers  that  we  call  the  world.  I  would  do  it  to-morrow ! " 
says  he.  "  Only — only " 

"Only  what?  "I  asked. 

"  Only  they  must  beg  it  on  their  bended  knees.  I  think 
in  public  too,"  he  added,  smiling.  "  Indeed,  Mackellar,  I 
doubt  if  there  be  a  hall  big  enough  to  serve  my  purpose  for 
that  act  of  reparation." 

"Vanity,  vanity!"  I  moralized.  "To  think  that  this 
great  force  for  evil  should  be  swayed  by  the  same  sentiment 
that  sets  a  lassie  mincing  to  her  glass ! " 

"  Oh,  there  are  double  words  for  everything ;  the  word 
that  swells,  the  word  that  belittles;  you  cannot  fight  me 
with  a  word ! "  said  he.  "  You  said  the  other  day  that  I 
relied  on  your  conscience:  were  I  in  your  humor  of  de- 
traction, I  might  say  I  build  upon  your  vanity.  It  is  your 
pretension  to  be  un  homme  de  parole;  'tis  mine  not  to  accept 
defeat.  Call  it  vanity,  call  it  virtue,  call  it  greatness  of 
soul — what  signifies  the  expression?  But  recognize  in  each 
of  us  a  common  strain ;  that  we  both  live  for  an  idea." 

It  will  be  gathered  from  so  much  familiar  talk,  and  so 
much  patience  on  both  sides,  that  we  now  lived  together  upon 
excellent  terms.  Such  was  again  the  fact,  and  this  time  more 
seriously  than  before.  Apart  from  disputations  such  as  that 
which  I  have  tried  to  reproduce,  not  only  consideration 
reigned,  but  I  am  tempted  to  say  even  kindness.  When  I  fell 
sick  (as  I  did  shortly  after  our  great  storm)  he  sat  by  my 
berth  to  entertain  me  with  his  conversation,  and  treated  me 
with  excellent  remedies,  which  I  accepted  with  security.  Him- 
self commented  on  the  circumstance.  "  You  see,"  says  he, 
"  you  begin  to  know  me  better.  A  very  little  while  ago,  upon 
this  lonely  ship,  where  no  one  but  myself  has  any  smattering 
of  science,  you  would  have  made  sure  I  had  designs  upon  your 
life.  And  observe,  it  is  since  I  found  you  had  designs  upon 
my  own  that  I  have  shown  you  most  respect.  You  will  tell  me 

171 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

if  this  speaks  of  a  small  mind."  I  found  little  to  reply.  In 
so  far  as  regarded  myself,  I  believed  him  to  mean  well ;  I  am 
perhaps  the  more  a  dupe  of  his  dissimulation,  but  I  believed 
(and  I  still  believe)  that  he  regarded  me  with  genuine  kind- 
ness. Singular  and  sad  fact!  so  soon  as  this  change  began, 
my  animosity  abated,  and  these  haunting  visions  of  my  master 
passed  utterly  away.  So  that,  perhaps,  there  was  truth  in 
the  man's  last  vaunting  word  to  me,  uttered  on  the  second  day 
of  July,  when  our  long  voyage  was  at  last  brought  almost  to 
an  end,  and  we  lay  becalmed  at  the  sea  end  of  the  vast  harbor 
of  New  York  in  a  gasping  heat  which  was  presently  ex- 
changed for  a  surprising  water-fall  of  rain.  I  stood  on  the 
poop  regarding  the  green  shores  near  at  hand,  and  now  and 
then  the  light  smoke  of  the  little  town,  our  destination.  And 
as  I  was  even  then  devising  how  to  steal  a  march  on  my 
familiar  enemy,  I  was  conscious  of  a  shade  of  embarrassment 
when  he  approached  me  with  his  hand  extended. 

"  I  am  now  to  bid  you  farewell,"  said  he,  "  and  that  for- 
ever. For  now  you  go  among  my  enemies,  where  all  your 
former  prejudices  will  revive.  I  never  yet  failed  to  charm  a 
person  when  I  wanted ;  even  you,  my  good  friend — to  call  you 
so  for  once — even  you  have  now  a  very  different  portrait  of 
ine  in  your  memory,  and  one  that  you  will  never  quite  forget. 
The  voyage  has  not  lasted  long  enough,  or  I  should  have 
wrote  the  impression  deeper.  But  now  all  is  at  an  end,  and 
we  are  again  at  war.  Judge  by  this  little  interlude  how 
dangerous  I  am ;  and  tell  those  fools  " — pointing  with  his 
finger  to  the  town — "  to  think  twice  and  thrice  before  they 
set  me  at  defiance." 


172 


PASSAGES  AT  NEW  YORK 

I  HAVE  mentioned  I  was  resolved  to  steal  a  march  upon 
the  Master ;  and  this,  with  the  complicity  of  Captain  Mc- 
Murtrie,  was  mighty  easily  effected;  a  boat  being  partly 
loaded  on  the  one  side  of  our  ship  and  the  master  placed  on 
board  of  it,  the  while  a  skiff  put  off  from  the  other  carrying 
me  alone.  I  had  no  more  trouble  in  finding  a  direction  to  my 
lord's  house,  whither  I  went  at  top  speed,  and  which  I  found 
to  be  on  the  outskirts  of  the  place,  a  very  suitable  mansion, 
in  a  fine  garden,  with  an  extraordinary  large  barn,  byre,  and 
stable  all  in  one.  It  was  here  my  lord  was  walking  when  I 
arrived ;  indeed  it  had  become  his  chief  place  of  f  requentation, 
and  his  mind  was  now  filled  with  farming.  I  burst  in  upon 
him  breathless,  and  gave  him  my  news ;  which  was  indeed  no 
news  at  all,  several  ships  having  outsailed  the  Nonesuch  in 
the  interval. 

"  We  have  been  expecting  you  long,"  said  my  lord ;  "  and 
indeed,  of  late  days,  ceased  to  expect  you  any  more.  I  am 
glad  to  take  your  hand  again,  Mackellar.  I  thought  you 
had  been  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea." 

"Ah,  my  lord,  would  God  I  had!"  cried  I.  "Things 
would  have  been  better  for  yourself." 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  says  he  grimly.  "  I  could  not  ask 
better.  There  is  a  long  score  to  pay,  and  now — at  last — I 
can  begin  to  pay  it." 

I  cried  out  against  his  security. 

"  Oh,"  says  he,  "  this  is  not  Durrisdeer,  and  I  have  taken 
my  precautions.  His  reputation  awaits  him,  I  have  prepared 
a  welcome  for  my  brother.  Indeed,  fortune  has  served  me: 
for  I  found  here  a  merchant  of  Albany  who  knew  him  after 
the  '45  and  had  mighty  convenient  suspicions  of  a  murder; 
some  one  of  the  name  of  Chew  it  was,  another  Albanian.  No 
one  here  will  be  surprised  if  I  deny  him  my  door ;  he  will  not 
be  suffered  to  address  my  children,  nor  even  to  salute  my  wife ; 

173 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

as  for  myself,  I  make  so  much  exception  for  a  brother  that 
he  may  speak  to  me.  I  should  lose  my  pleasure  else,"  says 
my  lord,  rubbing  his  palms. 

Presently  he  bethought  himself,  and  set  men  off  running 
with  billets,  to  summon  the  magnates  of  the  province.  I  can- 
not recall  what  pretext  he  employed ;  at  least  it  was  success- 
ful ;  and  when  our  ancient  enemy  appeared  upon  the  scene  he 
found  my  lord  pacing  in  front  of  his  house  under  some  trees 
of  shade,  with  the  governor  upon  one  hand  and  various 
notables  upon  the  other.  My  lady,  who  was  seated  in  the 
veranda,  rose  with  a  very  pinched  expression  and  carried  her 
children  into  the  house. 

The  Master,  well  dressed  and  with  an  elegant  walking- 
sword,  bowed  to  the  company  in  a  handsome  manner  and 
nodded  to  my  lord  with  familiarity.  My  lord  did  not  accept 
the  salutation,  but  looked  upon  his  brother  with  bended  brows. 

"  Well,  sir,"  says  he,  at  last,  "  what  ill  wind  brings  you 
hither  of  all  places,  where  (to  our  common  disgrace)  your 
reputation  has  preceded  you  .•'  " 

"  Your  lordship  is  pleased  to  be  civil,"  cries  the  Master 
with  a  fine  start 

"  I  am  pleased  to  be  very  plain,"  returned  my  lord ;  "  be- 
cause it  is  needful  you  should  clearly  understand  your  situa- 
tion. At  home,  where  you  were  so  little  known,  it  was  still 
possible  to  keep  appearances ;  that  would  be  quite  vain  in  this 
province;  and  I  have  to  tell  you  that  I  am  quite  resolved  to 
wash  my  hands  of  you.  You  have  already  ruined  me  almost 
to  the  door,  as  you  ruined  my  father  before  me ;  whose  heart 
you  also  broke.  Your  crimes  escape  the  law ;  but  my  friend 
the  governor  has  promised  protection  to  my  family.  Have  a 
care,  sir ! "  cries  my  lord,  shaking  his  cane  at  him :  "  if  you 
are  observed  to  utter  two  words  to  any  of  my  innocent  house- 
hold, the  law  shall  be  stretched  to  make  you  smart  for  it." 

"  Ah !  "  says  the  Master,  very  slowly.  "  And  so  this  is  the 
advantage  of  a  foreign  land!  These  gentlemen  are  unac- 
quainted with  our  story,  I  perceive.  They  do  not  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord  Durrisdeer;  they  do  not  know  you  are  my 
younger  brother,  sitting  in  my  place  under  a  sworn  family 

17* 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

compact ;  they  do  not  know  (or  they  would  not  be  seen  with 
you  in  familiar  correspondence)  that  every  acre  is  mine  be- 
fore God  Almighty — and  every  doit  of  the  money  you  with- 
hold from  me,  you  do  it  as  a  thief,  a  perjurer,  and  a  disloyal 
brother!" 

"  General  Clinton,"  I  cried,  "  do  not  listen  to  his  lies.  I 
am  the  steward  of  the  estate,  and  there  is  not  one  word  of 
truth  in  it.  The  man  is  a  forfeited  rebel  turned  into  a  hired 
spy ;  there  is  his  story  in  two  words." 

It  was  thus  that  (in  the  heat  of  the  moment)  I  let  slip  his 
infamy. 

"  Fellow,"  said  the  governor,  turning  his  face  sternly  on 
the  Master,  "  I  know  more  of  you  than  you  think  for.  We 
have  some  broken  ends  of  your  adventures  in  the  provinces, 
which  you  will  do  very  well  not  to  drive  me  to  investigate. 
There  is  the  disappearance  of  Mr.  Jacob  Chew  with  all  his 
merchandise;  there  is  the  matter  of  where  you  came  ashore 
from  with  so  much  money  and  jewels,  when  you  were  picked 
up  by  a  Bermudan  out  of  Albany.  Believe  me,  if  I  let  these 
matters  lie  it  is  in  commiseration  for  your  family  and  out  of 
respect  for  my  valued  friend,  Lord  Durrisdeer." 

There  was  a  murmur  of  applause  from  the  provincials. 

"  I  should  have  remembered  how  a  title  would  shine  out 
in  such  a  hole  as  this,"  says  the  Master,  white  as  a  sheet ;  "  no 
matter  how  unjustly  come  by.  It  remains  for  me  then  to  die 
at  my  lord's  door,  where  my  dead  body  will  form  a  very  cheer- 
ful ornament." 

"  Away  with  your  affectations !  "  cried  my  lord.  **  You 
know  very  well  I  have  no  such  meaning ;  only  to  protect  my- 
self from  calumny  and  my  home  from  your  intrusion.  I  offer 
you  a  choice.  Either  I  shall  pay  your  passage  home  on  the 
first  ship,  when  you  may  perhaps  be  able  to  resume  your  occu- 
pations under  government,  although  God  knows  I  would 
rather  see  you  on  the  highway!  Or,  if  that  likes  you  not, 
stay  here  and  welcome!  I  have  inquired  the  least  sum  on 
which  body  and  soul  can  be  decently  kept  together  in  New 
York ;  so  much  you  shall  have,  paid  weekly ;  and  if  you  cannot 
labor  with  your  hands  to  better  it,  high  time  you  should 

175 


THE    MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

betake  yourself  to  learn!  The  condition  is,  that  you  speak 
with  no  member  of  my  family  except  myself,"  he  added. 

I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  seen  any  man  so  pale  as  was 
the  Master;  but  he  was  erect  and  his  mouth  firm. 

"  I  have  been  met  here  with  some  very  unmerited  insults," 
said  he,  "  from  which  I  have  certainly  no  idea  to  take  refuge 
by  flight.  Give  me  your  pittance;  I  take  it  without  shame, 
for  it  is  mine  already — like  the  shirt  upon  your  back;  and 
I  choose  to  stay  until  these  gentlemen  shall  understand  me 
better.  Already  they  must  spy  the  cloven  hoof;  since  with 
all  your  pretended  eagerness  for  the  family  honor,  you 
take  a  pleasure  to  degrade  it  in  my  person." 

"  This  is  all  very  fine,"  says  my  lord ;  "  but  to  us  who 
know  you  of  old,  you  must  be  sure  it  signifies  nothing. 
You  take  that  alternative  out  of  which  you  think  that  you 
can  make  the  most.  Take  it,  if  you  can,  in  silence;  it  will 
serve  you  better  in  the  long  run,  you  may  believe  me,  than 
this  ostentation  of  ingratitude." 

"  Oh,  gratitude,  my  lord ! "  cries  the  Master,  with  a 
mounting  intonation  and  his  forefinger  very  conspicuously 
lifted  up.  "  Be  at  rest ;  it  will  not  fail  you.  It  now  remains 
that  I  should  salute  these  gentlemen  whom  we  have  wearied 
with  our  family  affairs." 

And  he  bowed  to  each  in  succession,  settled  his  walking- 
sword,  and  took  himself  off,  leaving  every  one  amazed  at 
his  behavior,  and  me  not  less  so  at  my  lord's. 

We  were  now  to  enter  on  a  changed  phase  of  this  family 
division.  The  Master  was  by  no  manner  of  means  so  help- 
less as  my  lord  supposed,  having  at  his  hand  and  entirely 
devoted  to  his  service  an  excellent  artist  in  all  sorts  of  gold- 
smith work.  With  my  lord's  allowance,  which  was  not  so 
scanty  as  he  had  described  it,  the  pair  could  support  life; 
and  all  the  earnings  of  Secundra  Dass  might  be  laid  upon  one 
side  for  any  future  purpose.  That  this  was  done,  I  have  no 
doubt.  It  was  in  all  likelihood  the  Master's  design  to  gather 
a  sufficiency,  and  then  proceed  in  quest  of  that  treasure 
which  he  had  buried  long  before  among  the  mountains;  to 

176 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

which,  if  he  had  confined  himself,  he  would  have  been  more 
happily  inspired.  But  unfortunately  for  himself  and  all 
of  us,  he  took  counsel  of  his  anger.  The  public  disgrace 
of  his  arrival  (which  I  sometimes  wonder  he  could  manage 
to  survive)  rankled  in  his  bones;  he  was  in  that  humor 
when  a  man  (in  the  words  of  the  old  adage)  will  cut  off  his 
nose  to  spite  his  face;  and  he  must  make  himself  a  public 
spectacle,  in  the  hopes  that  some  of  the  disgrace  might 
spatter  on  my  lord. 

He  chose,  in  a  poor  quarter  of  the  town,  a  lonely  small 
house  of  boards,  overhung  with  some  acacias.  It  was  fur- 
nished in  front  with  a  sort  of  hutch  opening,  like  that  of 
a  dog's  kennel,  but  about  as  high  as  a  table  from  the  ground, 
in  which  the  poor  man  that  built  it  had  formerly  displayed 
some  wares ;  and  it  was  this  which  took  the  master's  fancy 
and  possibly  suggested  his  proceedings.  It  appears,  on 
board  the  pirate  ship,  he  had  acquired  some  quickness  with 
the  needle;  enough  at  least  to  play  the  part  of  tailor  in 
the  public  eye ;  which  was  all  that  was  required  by  the  nature 
of  his  vengeance.  A  placard  was  hung  above  the  hutch, 
bearing  these  words  in  something  of  the  following  disposition : 

JAMES  DUEIE 

FORMERLY  MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 
CLOTHES  NEATLY  CLOUTED. 

SECUNDRA  DASS 

DECAYED  GENTLEMAN  OF  INDIA 

FINE  GOLDSMITH  WORK. 

Underneath  this,  when  he  had  a  job,  my  gentleman  sat 
withinside  tailor-wise  and  busily  stitching.  I  say,  when  he 
had  a  job;  but  such  customers  as  came  were  rather  for 
Secundra,  and  the  master's  sewing  would  be  more  in  the 

177 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

manner  of  Penelope's.  He  could  never  have  designed  to 
gain  even  butter  to  his  bread  by  such  a  means  of  livelihood; 
enough  for  him  that  there  was  the  name  of  Durie  dragged 
in  the  dirt  on  the  placard,  and  the  sometime  heir  of  that 
proud  family  set  up  cross-legged  in  public  for  a  reproach 
upon  his  brother's  meanness.  And  in  so  far  his  device  suc- 
ceeded, that  there  was  murmuring  in  the  town  and  a  party 
formed  highly  inimical  to  my  lord.  My  lord's  favor  with  the 
governor  laid  him  more  open  on  the  other  side;  my  lady 
(who  was  never  so  well  received  in  the  colony)  met  with  pain- 
ful innuendoes ;  in  a  party  of  women  where  it  would  be 
the  topic  most  natural  to  introduce,  she  was  almost  debarred 
from  the  naming  of  needlework ;  and  I  have  seen  her  return 
with  a  flushed  countenance  and  vow  that  she  would  go 
abroad  no  more. 

In  the  meanwhile,  my  lord  dwelt  in  his  decent  mansion, 
immersed  in  farming;  a  popular  man  with  his  intimates, 
and  careless  or  unconscious  of  the  rest.  He  laid  on  flesh; 
had  a  bright,  busy  face;  even  the  heat  seemed  to  prosper 
with  him;  and  my  lady  (in  despite  of  her  own  annoyances) 
daily  blessed  Heaven  her  father  should  have  left  her  such 
a  paradise.  She  had  looked  on  from  a  window  upon  the 
Master's  humiliation;  and  from  that  hour  appeared  to  feel 
at  ease.  I  was  not  so  sure  myself;  as  time  went  on  there 
seemed  to  me  a  something  not  quite  wholesome  in  my  lord's 
condition ;  happy  he  was,  beyond  a  doubt,  but  the  grounds 
of  this  felicity  were  secret ;  even  in  the  bosom  of  his  family 
he  brooded  with  manifest  delight  upon  some  private  thought ; 
and  I  conceived  at  last  the  suspicion  (quite  unworthy  of  us 
both)  that  he  kept  a  mistress  somewhere  in  the  town.  Yet 
he  went  little  abroad,  and  his  day  was  very  fully  occupied ; 
indeed  there  was  but  a  single  period,  and  that  pretty  early 
in  the  morning  while  Mr.  Alexander  was  at  his  lesson-book, 
of  which  I  was  not  certain  of  the  disposition.  It  should  be 
borne  in  mind,  in  the  defense  of  that  which  I  now  did,  that 
I  was  always  in  some  fear  my  lord  was  not  quite  justly  in 
his  reason;  and  with  our  enemy  sitting  so  still  in  the  same 
town  with  us,  I  did  well  to  be  upon  my  guard.  Accordingly 

178 


THE   MASTER  OP  BAIXANTRAE 

I  made  a  pretext,  had  the  hour  changed  at  which  I  taught 
Mr.  Alexander  the  foundation  of  ciphering  and  the  mathe- 
matic,  and  set  myself  instead  to  dog  my  master's  foot- 
steps. 

Every  morning,  fair  or  foul,  he  took  his  gold-headed  cane, 
set  his  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head — a  recent  habitude, 
which  I  thought  to  indicate  a  burning  brow — and  betook 
himself  to  make  a  certain  circuit.  At  the  first  his  way  was 
among  pleasant  trees  and  beside  a  graveyard,  where  he  would 
sit  awhile,  if  the  day  were  fine,  in  meditation.  Presently  the 
path  turned  down  to  the  water-side  and  came  back  along  the 
harbor  front  and  past  the  master's  booth.  As  he  approached 
this  second  part  of  his  circuit  my  Lord  Durrisdeer  began  to 
pace  more  leisurely,  like  a  man  delighted  with  the  air  and 
scene;  and  before  the  booth,  halfway  between  that  and  the 
water's  edge,  would  pause  a  little,  leaning  on  his  staff.  It 
was  the  hour  when  the  Master  sate  within  upon  his  board 
and  plied  his  needle.  So  these  two  brothers  would  gaze  upon 
each  other  with  hard  faces ;  and  then  my  lord  move  on  again, 
smiling  to  himself. 

It  was  but  twice  that  I  must  stoop  to  that  ungrateful 
necessity  of  playing  spy.  I  was  then  certain  of  my  lord's 
purpose  in  his  rambles  and  of  the  secret  source  of  his  delight. 
Here  was  his  mistress;  it  was  hatred  and  not  love  that 
gave  him  healthful  colors.  Some  moralists  might  have  been 
relieved  by  the  discovery,  I  confess  that  I  was  dismayed.  I 
found  this  situation  of  two  brethren  not  only  odious  in 
itself,  but  big  with  possibilities  of  further  evil;  and  I 
made  it  my  practice,  in  so  far  as  many  occupations  would 
allow,  to  go  by  a  shorter  path  and  be  secretly  present  at 
their  meeting.  Coming  down  one  day  a  little  late,  after  I 
had  been  near  a  week  prevented,  I  was  struck  with  surprise 
to  find  a  new  development.  I  should  say  there  was  a  bench 
against  the  Master's  house,  where  customers  might  sit  to 
parley  with  the  shopman ;  and  here  I  found  my  lord  seated, 
nursing  his  cane  and  looking  pleasantly  forth  upon  the  day. 
Not  three  feet  from  him  sat  the  master  stitching.  Neither 
spoke;  nor  (in  this  new  situation)  did  my  lord  so  much  as 

179 


THE   MASTT.H  OF  BALLANTRAE 

cast  a  glano"         n  his  enemy.     He  tasted  his  neighborhood, 

I  jrv*        ^jse^less  indirectly  in  the  bare  proximity  of  per- 

,    and,  without  doubt,  drank  deep  of  hateful  pleasures. 

He  had  no  sooner  come  away  than  I  openly  joined  him. 

"  My  lord,  my  lord,"  said  I,  "  this  is  no  manner  of  be- 
havior." 

"  I  grow  fat  upon  it,"  he  replied ;  and  not  merely  the 
words,  which  were  strange  enough,  but  the  whole  character 
of  his  expression  shocked  me. 

"  I  warn  you,  my  lord,  against  this  indulgency  of  evil 
feeling,"  said  I.  "  I  know  not  to  which  it  is  more  perilous, 
the  soul  or  the  reason:  but  you  go  the  way  to  murder 
both." 

"  You  cannot  understand,"  said  he.  "  You  had  never  such 
mountains  of  bitterness  upon  your  heart." 

"  And  if  it  were  no  more,"  I  added,  "  you  will  surely 
goad  the  man  to  some  extremity." 

"  To  the  contrary :  I  am  breaking  his  spirit,"  says  my 
lord. 

Every  morning  for  hard  upon  a  week  my  lord  took  his 
same  place  upon  the  bench.  It  was  a  pleasant  place,  under 
the  green  acacias,  with  a  sight  upon  the  bay  and  shipping, 
and  a  sound  (from  some  way  off)  of  mariners  singing  at 
their  employ.  Here  the  two  sate  without  speech  or  any 
external  movement  beyond  that  of  the  needle  or  the  Master 
biting  off  a  thread,  for  he  still  clung  to  his  pretense  of  indus- 
try; and  here  I  made  a  point  to  join  them,  wondering  at  my- 
self and  my  companions.  If  any  of  my  lord's  friends  went 
by,  he  would  hail  them  cheerfully,  and  cry  out  he  was  there 
to  give  some  good  advice  to  his  brother,  who  was  now  (to  his 
delight)  grown  quite  industrious.  And  even  this  the  Mas- 
ter accepted  with  a  steady  countenance;  what  was  in  hi> 
mind,  God  knows,  or  perhaps  Satan  only. 

All  of  a  sudden,  on  a  still  day  of  what  they  call  the  Indian 
summer,  when  the  woods  were  changed  into  gold  and  pink 
and  scarlet,  the  Master  laid  down  his  needle  and  burst  into 
a  fit  of  merriment.  I  think  he  must  have  been  preparing  it 

180 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

a  long  while  in  silence,  for  the  note  in  itself  was  pretty  nat- 
urally pitched;  but  breaking  suddenly  from  so  extreme  a 
silence  and  in  circumstances  so  averse  from  mirth,  it  sounded 
ominously  to  my  ear. 

"  Henry,"  said  he,  "  I  have  for  once  made  a  false  step, 
and  for  once  you  have  had  the  wit  to  profit  by  it.  The  farce 
of  the  cobbler  ends  to-day;  and  I  confess  to  you  (with  my 
compliments)  that  you  have  had  the  best  of  it.  Blood  will 
out;  and  you  have  certainly  a  choice  idea  of  how  to  make 
yourself  unpleasant." 

Never  a  word  said  my  lord;  it  was  just  as  though  the 
Master  had  not  broken  silence. 

"  Come,"  resumed  the  Master,  "  do  not  be  sulky,  it  will 
spoil  your  attitude.  You  can  now  afford  (believe  me)  to  be 
a  little  gracious ;  for  I  have  not  merely  a  defeat  to  accept. 
I  had  meant  to  continue  this  performance  till  I  had  gathered 
enough  money  for  a  certain  purpose ;  I  confess  ingenuously 
I  have  not  the  courage.  You  naturally  desire  my  absence 
from  this  town ;  I  have  come  round  by  another  way  to  the 
same  idea.  And  I  have  a  proposition  to  make;  or  if  your 
lordship  prefers,  a  favor  to  ask." 

"  Ask  it,"  says  my  lord. 

"  You  may  have  heard  that  I  had  once  in  this  country  a 
considerable  treasure,"  returned  the  master :  "  it  matters 
not  whether  or  no — such  is  the  fact;  and  I  was  obliged  to 
bury  it  in  a  spot  of  which  I  have  sufficient  indications.  To 
the  recovery  of  this,  has  my  ambition  now  come  down ;  and 
as  it  is  my  own  you  will  not  grudge  it  me." 

"  Go  and  get  it,"  says  my  lord.     "  I  make  no  opposition." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Master,  "  but  to  do  so  I  must  find  men 
and  carriage.  The  way  is  long  and  rough,  and  the  country 
infested  with  wild  Indians.  Advance  me  only  so  much  as 
shall  be  needful :  either  as  a  lump  sum,  in  lieu  of  my  allow- 
ance, or  if  you  prefer  it  as  a  loan,  which  I  shall  repay  on 
my  return.  And  then,  if  you  so  decide,  you  may  have  seen 
the  last  of  me." 

My  lord  stared  him  steadily  in  the  eyes ;  there  was  a  hard 
smile  upon  his  face,  but  he  uttered  nothing. 

181 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Henry,"  said  the  Master,  with  a  formidable  quietness, 
and  drawing  at  the  same  time  somewhat  back — "  Henry, 
I  had  the  honor  to  address  you." 

"  Let  us  be  stepping  homeward,"  says  my  lord  to  me, 
who  was  plucking  at  his  sleeve;  and  with  that  he  rose, 
stretched  himself,  settled  his  hat,  and  still  without  a  syllable 
of  response,  began  to  walk  steadily  along  the  shore. 

I  hesitated  awhile  between  the  two  brothers,  so  serious  a 
climax  did  we  seem  to  have  reached.  But  the  Master  had 
resumed  his  occupation,  his  eyes  lowered,  his  hand  seemingly 
as  deft  as  ever ;  and  I  decided  to  pursue  my  lord. 

"  Are  you  mad  ?  "  I  cried,  so  soon  as  I  had  overtook  him. 
"  Would  you  cast  away  so  fair  an  opportunity  ?  " 

"Is  it  possible  you  should  still  believe  in  him?"  inquired 
my  lord,  almost  with  a  sneer. 

"  I  wish  him  forth  of  this  town,"  I  cried.  "  I  wish  him 
anywhere  and  anyhow  but  as  he  is." 

"  I  have  said  my  say,"  returned  my  lord,  "  and  you  have 
said  yours.  There  let  it  rest." 

But  I  was  bent  on  dislodging  the  Master.  That  sight  of 
him  patiently  returning  to  his  needlework  was  more  than 
my  imagination  could  digest.  There  was  never  a  man  made, 
and  the  master  the  least  of  any,  that  could  accept  so  long 
a  series  of  insults.  The  air  smelled  blood  to  me.  And  I 
vowed  there  should  be  no  neglect  of  mine  if,  through  any 
chink  of  possibility,  crime  could  be  yet  turned  aside.  That 
same  day,  therefore,  I  came  to  my  lord  in  his  business  room, 
where  he  sat  upon  some  trivial  occupation. 

"  My  lord,"  said  I,  "  I  have  found  a  suitable  investment 
for  my  small  economies.  But  these  are  unhappily  in  Scot- 
land; it  will  take  some  time  to  lift  them,  and  the  affair 
presses.  Could  your  lordship  see  his  way  to  advance  me 
the  amount  against  my  note?  " 

He  read  me  awhile  with  keen  eyes.  "  I  have  never  in- 
quired into  the  state  of  your  affairs,  Mackellar,"  says  he. 
"  Beyond  the  amount  of  your  caution,  you  may  not  be 
worth  a  farthing,  for  what  I  know." 

"  I  have  been  a  long  while  in  your  service,  and  never  told 

182 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

a  lie,  nor  yet  asked  a  favor  for  myself,"  said  I,  **  until 
to-day." 

"  A  favor  for  the  Master,"  he  returned  quietly.  "  Do 
you  take  me  for  a  fool,  Mackellar?  Understand  it  once 
and  for  all;  I  treat  this  beast  in  my  own  way;  fear  nor 
favor  shall  not  move  me;  and  before  I  am  hoodwinked,  it 
will  require  a  trickster  less  transparent  than  yourself.  I 
ask  service,  loyal  service;  not  that  you  should  make  and 
mar  behind  my  back,  and  steal  my  own  money  to  defeat  me." 

"  My  lord,"  said  I,  "  these  are  very  unpardonable  ex- 
pressions." 

"  Think  once  more,  Mackellar,"  he  replied ;  "  and  you 
will  see  they  fit  the  fact.  It  is  your  own  subterfuge  that  is 
unpardonable.  Deny  (if  you  can)  that  you  designed  this 
money  to  evade  my  orders  with,  and  I  will  ask  your  pardon 
freely.  If  you  cannot,  you  must  have  the  resolution  to  hear 
your  conduct  go  by  its  own  name." 

"  If  you  think  I  had  any  design  but  to  save  you —  '  I 
began. 

"  Oh,  my  old  friend,"  said  he,  "  you  know  very  well  what 
I  think!  Here  is  my  hand  to  you  with  all  my  heart;  but 
of  money,  not  one  rap." 

Defeated  upon  this  side,  I  went  straight  to  my  room, 
wrote  a  letter,  ran  with  it  to  the  harbor,  for  I  knew  a  ship 
was  on  the  point  of  sailing;  and  came  to  the  Master's  door 
a  little  before  dusk.  Entering  without  the  form  of  any 
knock,  I  found  him  sitting  with  his  Indian  at  a  simple  meal 
of  maize  porridge  with  some  milk.  The  house  within  was 
clean  and  poor ;  only  a  few  books  upon  a  shelf  distinguished 
it,  and  (in  one  corner)  Secundra's  little  bench. 

"  Mr.  Bally,"  said  I,  "  I  have  near  five  hundred  pounds 
laid  by  in  Scotland,  the  economies  of  a  hard  life.  A  letter 
goes  by  yon  ship  to  have  it  lifted ;  have  so  much  patience 
till  the  return  ship  comes  in,  and  it  is  all  yours,  upon  the 
same  condition  you  offered  to  my  lord  this  morning." 

He  rose  from  the  table,  came  forward,  took  me  by  the 
shoulders,  and  looked  me  in  the  face,  smiling. 

"  And  yet  you  are  very  fond  of  money !  "  said  he.     "  And 

183 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

yet   you   love   money   beyond   all   things    else,    except   my 
brother!" 

"  I  fear  old  age  and  poverty,"  said  I,  "  which  is  another 
matter." 

"  I  will  never  quarrel  for  a  name.  Call  it  so ! "  he  re- 
plied. "  Ah,  Mackellar,  Mackellar,  if  this  were  done  from 
any  love  to  me,  how  gladly  would  I  close  upon  your  offer ! " 

"  And  yet,"  I  eagerly  answered,  "  I  say  it  to  my  shame, 
but  I  cannot  see  you  in  this  poor  place  without  compunction. 
It  is  not  my  single  thought,  nor  my  first ;  and  yet  it's  there ! 
I  would  gladly  see  you  delivered.  I  do  not  offer  it  in  love, 
and  far  from  that;  but  as  God  judges  me — and  I  wonder 
at  it  too ! — quite  without  enmity." 

"  Ah,"  says  he,  still  holding  my  shoulders  and  now  gently 
shaking  me,  "  you  think  of  me  more  than  you  suppose.  '  And 
I  wonder  at  it  too,' "  he  added,  repeating  my  expression  and 
I  suppose  something  of  my  voice.  "  You  are  an  honest  man, 
and  for  that  cause  I  spare  you." 

"  Spare  me?  "  I  cried. 

"  Spare  you,"  he  repeated,  letting  me  go  and  turning 
away.  And  then  fronting  me  once  more :  "  You  little  know 
what  I  would  do  with  it,  Mackellar!  Did  you  think  I  had 
swallowed  my  defeat  indeed?  Listen:  my  life  has  been  a 
series  of  unmerited  cast-backs.  That  fool,  Prince  Charlie, 
mismanaged  a  most  promising  affair:  there  fell  my  first 
fortune.  In  Paris  I  had  my  foot  once  more  high  upon  the 
ladder:  that  time  it  was  an  accident,  a  letter  came  to  the 
wrong  hand,  and  I  was  bare  again.  A  third  time  I  found  my 
opportunity;  I  built  up  a  place  for  myself  in  India  with 
an  infinite  patience;  and  then  Clive  came,  my  rajah  was 
swallowed  up,  and  I  escaped  out  of  the  convulsion,  like  an- 
other ^Eneas,  with  Secundra  Dass  upon  my  back.  Three 
times  I  have  had  my  hand  upon  the  highest  station ;  and  I 
am  not  yet  three-and-forty.  I  know  the  world  as  few  men 
know  it  when  they  come  to  die,  court  and  camp,  the  east 
and  the  west ;  I  know  where  to  go.  I  see  a  thousand  open- 
ings. I  am  now  at  the  height  of  my  resources,  sound  of 
health,  of  inordinate  ambition.  Well,  all  this  I  resign;  I 

184 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

care  not  if  I  die  and  the  world  never  hear  of  me;  I  care 
only  for  one  thing,  and  that  I  will  have.  Mind  yourself: 
lest,  when  the  roof  falls,  you  too  should  be  crushed  under 
the  ruins." 

As  I  came  out  of  his  house,  all  hope  of  intervention  quite 
destroyed,  I  was  aware  of  a  stir  on  the  harbor  side,  and, 
raising  my  eyes,  there  was  a  great  ship  newly  come  to  anchor. 
It  seems  strange  I  could  have  looked  upon  her  with  so  much 
indifference,  for  she  brought  death  to  the  brothers  of  Dur- 
risdeer.  After  all  the  desperate  episodes  of  this  contention, 
the  insults,  the  opposing  interests,  the  fraternal  duel  in  the 
shrubbery,  it  was  reserved  for  some  poor  devil  in  Grub 
Street,  scribbling  for  his  dinner  and  not  caring  what  he 
scribbled,  to  cast  a  spell  across  four  thousand  miles  of  the 
salt  sea,  and  send  forth  both  these  brothers  into  savage  and 
wintery  deserts,  there  to  die.  But  such  a  thought  was  dis- 
tant from  my  mind;  and  while  all  the  provincials  were 
fluttered  about  me  by  the  unusual  animation  of  their  port, 
I  passed  throughout  their  midst  on  my  return  homeward, 
quite  absorbed  in  the  recollection  of  my  visit  and  the  mas- 
ter's speech. 

The  same  night  there  was  brought  to  us  from  the  ship 
a  little  packet  of  pamphlets.  The  next  day  my  lord  was 
under  engagement  to  go  with  the  governor  upon  some  party 
of  pleasure;  the  time  was  nearly  due,  and  I  left  him  for 
a  moment  alone  in  his  room  and  skimming  through  the 
pamphlets.  When  I  returned  his  head  had  fallen  upon  the 
table,  his  arms  lying  abroad  among  the  crumpled  papers. 

"  My  lord,  my  lord ! "  I  cried  as  I  ran  forward,  for  I 
supposed  he  was  in  some  fit. 

He  sprung  up  like  a  figure  upon  wires,  his  countenance 
deformed  with  fury,  so  that  in  a  strange  place  I  should 
scarce  have  known  him.  His  hand  at  the  same  time  flew 
above  his  head  as  though  to  strike  me  down.  "  Leave  me 
alone !  "  he  screeched ;  and  I  fled,  as  fast  as  my  shaking  legs 
would  bear  me,  for  my  lady.  She  too  lost  no  time;  but 
when  we  returned  he  had  the  door  locked  within,  and  only 
cried  to  us  from  the  other  side  to  leave  him  be.  We  looked 

185 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

in  each  other's  faces,  very  white:  each  supposing  the  blow 
had  come  at  last. 

"  I  will  write  to  the  governor  to  excuse  him,"  says  she. 
"  We  must  keep  our  strong  friends."  But  when  she  took  up 
the  pen  it  flew  out  of  her  fingers.  "  I  cannot  write,"  said  she. 
"Can  you?" 

"  I  will  make  a  shift,  my  lady,"  said  I. 

She  looked  over  me  as  I  wrote.  "  That  will  do,"  she  said, 
when  I  had  done.  "  Thank  God,  Mackellar,  I  have  you  to 
lean  upon !  But  what  can  it  be  now?  what,  what  can  it  be?  " 

In  my  own  mind,  I  believed  there  was  no  explanation  pos- 
sible and  none  required:  it  was  my  fear  that  the  man's 
madness  had  now  simply  burst  forth  its  way,  like  the  long- 
smothered  flames  of  a  volcano;  but  to  this  (in  mere  mercy 
to  my  lady)  I  durst  not  give  expression. 

"  It  is  more  to  the  purpose  to  consider  our  own  behavior," 
said  I.  "  Must  we  leave  him  there  alone  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  dare  disturb  him,"  she  replied.  "  Nature  may 
know  best ;  it  may  be  nature  that  cries  to  be  alone ;  and  we 
grope  in  the  dark.  Oh,  yes,  I  would  leave  him  as  he  is." 

"  I  will  then  dispatch  this  letter,  my  lady,  and  return 
here,  if  you  please,  to  sit  with  you,"  said  I. 

'*  Pray  do,"  cries  my  lady. 

All  afternoon  we  sat  together,  mostly  in  silence,  watch- 
ing my  lord's  door.  My  own  mind  was  busy  with  the  scene 
that  had  just  passed,  and  its  singular  resemblance  to  my 
vision.  I  must  say  a  word  upon  this,  for  the  story  has  gone 
abroad  with  great  exaggeration,  and  I  have  even  seen  it 
printed  and  my  own  name  referred  to  for  particulars.  So 
much  was  the  same:  here  was  my  lord  in  a  room,  with  his 
head  upon  the  table,  and  when  he  raised  his  face  it  wore  such 
an  expression  as  distressed  me  to  the  soul.  But  the  room 
was  different,  my  lord's  attitude  at  the  table  not  at  all  the 
same,  and  his  face,  when  he  disclosed  it,  expressed  a  painful 
degree  of  fury  instead  of  that  haunting  despair  which  had 
always  (except  once,  already  referred  to)  characterized  it 
in  the  vision.  There  is  the  whole  truth  at  last  before  the 
public;  and  if  the  differences  be  great,  the  coincidence  was 

186 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

yet  enough  to  fill  me  with  uneasiness.  All  afternoon,  as  I 
say,  I  sat  and  pondered  upon  this  quite  to  myself;  for  my 
lady  had  trouble  of  her  own,  and  it  was  my  last  thought  to 
vex  her  with  fancies.  About  the  midst  of  our  time  of  wait- 
ing she  conceived  an  ingenious  scheme,  had  Mr.  Alexander 
fetched  and  bade  him  knock  at  his  father's  door.  My  lord 
sent  the  boy  about  his  business,  but  without  the  least  violence 
whether  of  manner  or  expression ;  so  that  I  began  to  enter- 
tain a  hope  the  fit  was  over. 

At  last,  as  the  night  fell  and  I  was  lighting  a  lamp 
that  stood  there  trimmed,  the  door  opened  and  my  lord 
stood  within  upon  the  threshold.  The  light  was  not  so 
strong  that  we  could  read  his  countenance;  when  h?  spoke 
methought  his  voice  a  little  altered  but  yet  perfectly  steady. 

"  Mackellar,"  said  he,  "  carry  this  note  to  its  destination 
with  your  own  hand.  It  is  highly  private.  Find  the  person 
alone  when  you  deliver  it." 

"  Henry,"  says  my  lady,  "  you  are  not  ill  ?  " 

"  No,  no,"  says  he  querulously,  "  I  am  occupied.  Not  at 
all ;  I  am  only  occupied.  It  is  a  singular  thing  a  man  must 
be  supposed  to  be  ill  when  he  has  any  business!  Send  me 
supper  to  this  room,  and  a  basket  of  wine :  I  expect  the  visit 
of  a  friend.  Otherwise  I  am  not  to  be  disturbed." 

And  with  that  he  once  more  shut  himself  in. 

The  note  was  addressed  to  one  Captain  Harris,  at  a  tavern 
on  the  port-side.  I  knew  Harris  (by  reputation)  for  a 
dangerous  adventurer,  highly  suspected  of  piracy  in  the 
past,  and  now  following  the  rude  business  of  an  Indian 
trader.  What  my  lord  should  have  to  say  to  him,  or  he  to 
my  lord,  it  passed  my  imagination  to  conceive:  or  yet  how 
my  lord  had  heard  of  him,  unless  by  a  disgraceful  trial  from 
which  the  man  was  recently  escaped.  Altogether  I  went  upon 
the  errand  with  reluctance,  and  from  the  little  I  saw  of  the 
captain,  returned  from  it  with  sorrow.  I  found  him  in  a 
foul-smelling  chamber,  sitting  by  a  guttering  candle  and  an 
empty  bottle;  he  had  the  remains  of  a  military  carriage, 
or  rather  perhaps  it  was  an  affectation,  for  his  manners 
were  low. 

187 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  Tell  my  lord,  with  my  service,  that  I  will  wait  upon  his 
lordship  in  the  inside  of  half  an  hour,"  says  he,  when  he 
had  read  the  note;  and  then  had  the  servility,  pointing  to 
his  empty  bottle,  to  propose  that  I  should  buy  him  liquor. 

Although  I  returned  with  my  best  speed,  the  captain  fol- 
lowed close  upon  my  heels,  and  he  stayed  late  into  the  night. 
The  cock  was  crowing  a  second  time  when  I  saw  (from  my 
chamber  window)  my  lord  lighting  him  to  the  gate,  both  men 
very  much  affected  with  their  potations  and  sometimes  lean- 
ing one  upon  the  other  to  confabulate.  Yet  the  next  morn- 
ing my  lord  was  abroad  again  early  with  a  hundred  pounds 
of  money  in  his  pocket.  I  never  supposed  that  he  returned 
with  it;  and  yet  I  was  quite  sure  it  did  not  find  its  way  to 
the  Master,  for  I  lingered  all  morning  within  view  of  the 
booth. 

That  was  the  last  time  my  Lord  Durrisdeer  passed  his 
own  inclosure  till  we  left  New  York;  he  walked  in  his  barn 
or  sat  and  talked  with  his  family,  all  much  as  usual ;  but  the 
town  saw  nothing  of  him,  and  his  daily  visits  to  the  master 
seemed  forgotten.  Nor  yet  did  Harris  reappear;  or  not 
until  the  end. 

I  was  now  much  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  the  mysteries 
in  which  we  had  begun  to  move.  It  was  plain,  if  only  from 
his  change  of  habitude,  my  lord  had  something  on  his  mind 
of  a  grave  nature;  but  what  it  was,  whence  it  sprung,  or 
why  he  should  now  keep  the  house  and  garden,  I  could  make 
no  guess  at.  It  was  clear,  even  to  probation,  the  pamphlets 
had  some  share  in  this  revolution ;  I  read  all  I  could  find,  and 
they  were  all  extremely  insignificant  and  of  the  usual  kind  of 
party  scurrility;  even  to  a  high  politician,  I  could  spy  out 
no  particular  matter  of  offense,  and  my  lord  was  a  man 
rather  indifferent  on  public  questions.  The  truth  is,  the 
pamphlet  which  was  the  spring  of  this  affair,  lay  all  the 
time  on  my  lord's  bosom.  There  it  was  that  I  found  it  at 
last,  after  he  was  dead,  in  the  midst  of  the  north  wilderness ; 
in  such  a  place,  in  such  dismal  circumstances,  I  was  to  read 
for  the  first  time  these  idle,  lying  words  of  a  whig  pamphle- 
teer declaiming  against  indulgency  to  Jacobites :  "  Another 

188 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

notorious  rebel,  the  M r  of  B e,  is  to  have  his  title 

restored,"  the  passage  ran.  "  This  business  has  been  long 
in  hand,  since  he  rendered  some  very  disgraceful  services  in 

Scotland  and  France.  His  brother,  L d  D r,  is 

known  to  be  no  better  than  himself  in  inclination;  and  the 
supposed  heir,  who  is  now  to  be  set  aside,  was  bred  up  in 
the  most  detestable  principles.  In  the  old  phrase,  it  is  six 
of  the  one  and  half  a  dozen  of  the  other,  but  the  favor  of 
such  a  reposition  is  too  extreme  to  be  passed  over."  A  man 
in  his  right  wits  could  not  have  cared  two  straws  for  a  tale 
so  manifestly  false;  that  government  should  ever  entertain 
the  notion,  was  inconceivable  to  any  reasoning  creature, 
unless  possibly  the  fool  that  penned  it ;  and  my  lord,  though 
never  brilliant,  was  ever  remarkable  for  sense.  That  he 
should  credit  such  a  rodomontade,  and  carry  the  pamphlet 
on  his  bosom  and  the  words  in  his  heart,  is  the  clear  proof 
of  the  man's  lunacy.  Doubtless  the  mere  mention  of  Mr. 
Alexander,  and  the  threat  directly  held  out  against  the 
child's  succession,  precipitated  that  which  had  so  long  im- 
pended. Or  else  my  master  had  been  truly  mad  for  a  long 
time,  and  we  were  too  dull  or  too  much  used  to  him,  and  did 
not  perceive  the  extent  of  his  infirmity. 

About  a  week  after  the  day  of  the  pamphlets  I  was  late 
upon  the  harbor-side,  and  took  a  turn  toward  the  master's, 
as  I  often  did.  The  door  opened,  a  flood  of  light  came 
forth  upon  the  road,  and  I  beheld  a  man  taking  his  departure 
with  friendly  salutations.  I  cannot  say  how  singularly  I 
was  shaken  to  recognize  the  adventurer  Harris.  I  could 
not  but  conclude  it  was  the  hand  of  my  lord  that  had  brought 
him  there;  and  prolonged  my  walk  in  very  serious  and  ap- 
prehensive thought.  It  was  late  when  I  came  home,  and 
there  was  my  lord  making  up  his  portmanteau  for  a  voyage. 

"Why  do  you  come  so  late?"  he  cried.  "We  leave 
to-morrow  for  Albany,  you  and  I  together;  and  it  is  high 
time  you  were  about  your  preparations." 

"  For  Albany,  my  lord? "  I  cried.  "  And  for  what 
earthly  purpose?  " 

"  Change  of  scene,"  said  he. 

189 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAJE 

And  my  lady,  who  appeared  to  have  been  weeping,  gave 
me  the  signal  to  obey  without  more  parley.  She  told  me 
a  little  later  (when  we  found  occasion  to  exchange  some 
words)  that  he  had  suddenly  announced  his  intention  after 
a  visit  from  Captain  Harris,  and  her  best  endeavors,  whether 
to  dissuade  him  from  the  journey  or  to  elicit  some  explana- 
tion of  its  purpose,  had  alike  proved  unavailing. 


190 


THE     JOURNEY     IN     THE     WILDERNESS 

made  a  prosperous  voyage  up  that  fine  river  of 
the  Hudson,  the  weather  grateful,  the  hills  singularly 
beautified  with  the  colors  of  the  autumn.  At  Albany  we 
had  our  residence  at  an  inn,  where  I  was  not  so  blind  and 
my  lord  not  so  cunning  but  what  I  could  see  he  had  some 
design  to  hold  me  prisoner.  The  work  he  found  for  me  to 
do  was  not  so  pressing  that  we  should  transact  it  apart 
from  necessary  papers  in  the  chamber  of  an  inn ;  nor  was 
it  of  such  importance  that  I  should  be  set  upon  as  many 
as  four  or  five  scrolls  of  the  same  document.  I  submitted 
in  appearance;  but  I  took  private  measures  on  my  own 
side,  and  had  the  news  of  the  town  communicated  to  me 
daily  by  the  politeness  of  our  host.  In  this  way  I  received 
at  last  a  piece  of  intelligence  for  which,  I  may  say,  I  had 
been  waiting.  Captain  Harris  (I  was  told)  with  "  Mr. 
Mountain,  the  trader,"  had  gone  by  up  the  river  in  a  boat. 
I  would  have  feared  the  landlord's  eye,  so  strong  the  sense 
of  some  complicity  upon  my  master's  part  oppressed  me. 
But  I  made  out  to  say  I  had  some  knowledge  of  the  cap- 
tain, although  none  of  Mr.  Mountain,  and  to  inquire  who 
else  was  of  the  party.  My  informant  knew  not ;  Mr.  Moun- 
tain had  come  ashore  upon  some  needful  purchases ;  had 
gone  round  the  town  buying,  drinking  and  prating;  and  it 
seemed  the  party  went  upon  some  likely  venture,  for  he  had 
spoken  much  of  great  things  he  would  do  when  he  returned. 
No  more  was  known,  for  none  of  the  rest  had  come  ashore, 
and  it  seemed  they  were  pressed  for  time  to  reach  a  certain 
spot  before  the  snow  should  fall. 

And  sure  enough  the  next  day  there  fell  a  sprinkle  even 
in  Albany ;  but  it  passed  as  it  came,  and  was  but  a  reminder 
of  what  lay  before  us.  I  thought  of  it  lightly  then,  knowing 
so  little  as  I  did  of  that  inclement  province ;  the  retrospect 

191 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

is  different ;  and  I  wonder  at  times  if  some  of  the  horror  of 
these  events  which  I  must  now  rehearse  flowed  not  from  the 
foul  skies  and  savage  winds  to  which  we  were  exposed,  and 
the  agony  of  cold  that  we  must  suffer. 

The  boat  having  passed  by,  I  thought  at  first  we  should 
have  left  the  town.  But  no  such  matter.  My  lord  con- 
tinued his  stay  in  Albany  where  he  had  no  ostensible  affairs, 
and  kept  me  by  him,  far  from  my  due  employment,  and 
making  a  pretense  of  occupation.  It  is  upon  this  passage  I 
expect,  and  perhaps  deserve  censure.  I  was  not  so  dull 
but  what  I  had  my  own  thoughts.  I  could  not  see  the  mas- 
ter intrust  himself  into  the  hands  of  Harris,  and  not  suspect 
some  underhand  contrivance.  Harris  bore  a  villainous  repu- 
tation, and  he  had  been  tampered  with  in  private  by  my 
lord;  Mountain,  the  trader,  proved,  upon  inquiry,  to  be 
another  of  the  same  kidney;  the  errand  they  were  all  gone 
upon  being  the  recovery  of  ill-gotten  treasures,  offered  in 
itself  a  very  strong  incentive  to  foul  play;  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  country  where  they  j  ourney ed  promised  im- 
punity to  deeds  of  blood.  Well,  it  is  true  I  had  all  these 
thoughts  and  fears,  and  guesses  of  the  Master's  fate.  But 
you  are  to  consider  I  was  the  same  man  that  sought  to  dash 
him  from  the  bulwarks  of  a  ship  in  the  mid-sea;  the  same 
that,  a  little  before,  very  impiously  but  sincerely  offered 
God  a  bargain,  seeking  to  hire  God  to  be  my  bravo.  It  is 
true  again  that  I  had  a  good  deal  melted  toward  our  enemy. 
But  this  I  always  thought  of  as  a  weakness  of  the  flesh  and 
even  culpable;  my  mind  remaining  steady  and  quite  bent 
against  him.  True  yet  again  that  it  was  one  thing  to  as- 
sume on  my  own  shoulders  the  guilt  and  danger  of  a  criminal 
attempt,  and  another  to  stand  by  and  see  my  lord  imperil 
and  besmirch  himself.  But  this  was  the  very  ground  of  my 
inaction.  For  (shpuld  I  any  way  stir  in  the  business)  I 
might  fail  indeed  to  save  the  Master,  but  I  could  not  miss 
to  make  a  by-word  of  my  lord. 

Thus  it  was  that  I  did  nothing;  and  upon  the  same  rea- 
sons, I  am  still  strong  to  justify  my  course.  We  lived  mean- 
while in  Albany;  but  though  alone  together  in  a  strange 

192 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

place,  had  little  traffic  beyond  formal  salutations.  My  lord 
had  carried  with  him  several  introductions  to  chief  people  of 
the  town  and  neighborhood;  others  he  had  before  encoun- 
tered in  New  York ;  with  this  consequence,  that  he  went  much 
abroad,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  was  altogether  too  convivial 
in  his  habits.  I  was  often  in  bed,  but  never  asleep,  when  he 
returned;  and  there  was  scarce  a  night  when  he  did  not 
betray  the  influence  of  liquor.  By  day  he  would  still  lay 
upon  me  endless  tasks,  which  he  showed  considerable  in- 
genuity to  fish  up  and  to  renew,  in  the  manner  of  Penelope's 
web.  I  never  refused,  as  I  say,  for  I  was  hired  to  do  his 
bidding;  but  I  took  no  pains  to  keep  my  penetration  under 
a  bushel,  and  would  sometimes  smile  in  his  face. 

"  I  think  I  must  be  the  devil,  and  you  Michael  Scott," 
I  said  to  him  one  day.  "  I  have  bridged  Tweed  and  split 
the  Eildons ;  and  now  you  set  me  to  the  rope  of  sand." 

He  looked  at  me  with  shining  eyes  and  looked  away  again, 
his  jaw  chewing;  but  without  words. 

"  Well,  well,  my  lord,"  said  I,  "  your  will  is  my  pleasure. 
I  will  do  this  thing  for  the  fourth  time;  but  I  would  beg 
of  you  to  invent  another  task  against  to-morrow,  for  by 
my  troth,  I  am  weary  of  this  one." 

"  You  do  not  know  what  you  are  saying,"  returned  my 
lord,  putting  on  his  hat  and  turning  his  back  to  me.  "  It 
is  a  strange  thing  you  should  take  a  pleasure  to  annoy  me. 
A  friend — but  that  is  a  different  affair.  It  is  a  strange 
thing.  I  am  a  man  that  has  had  ill-fortune  all  my  life 
through.  I  am  still  surrounded  by  contrivances.  I  am 
always  treading  in  plots,"  he  burst  out.  "  The  whole  world 
is  banded  against  me." 

"  I  would  not  talk  wicked  nonsense  if  I  were  you,"  said 
I ;  "  but  I  will  tell  you  what  I  would  do — I  would  put  my 
head  in  cold  water,  for  you  had  more  last  night  than  you 
could  carry." 

"  Do  you  think  that?  "  said  he,  with  a  manner  of  interest 
highly  awakened.  "  Would  that  be  good  for  me  ?  It's  a 
thing  I  never  tried." 

"  I  mind  the  days  when  you  had  no  call  to  try,  and  I  wish, 

193 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

my  lord,  that  they  were  back  again,"  said  I.  "  But  the  plain 
truth  is,  if  you  continue  to  exce«d,  you  will  do  yourself  a 
mischief. 

"  I  don't  appear  to  carry  drink  the  way  I  used  to,"  said 
my  lord.  "  I  get  overtaken,  Mackellar.  But  I  will  be  more 
upon  my  guard." 

"  That  is  what  I  would  ask  of  you,"  I  replied.  "  You  are 
to  bear  in  mind  that  you  are  Mr.  Alexander's  father;  give 
the  bairn  a  chance  to  carry  his  name  with  some  responsi- 
bility." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  he.  "  Ye're  a  very  sensible  man,  Mac- 
kellar, and  have  been  long  in  my  employ.  But  I  think  if  you 
have  nothing  more  to  say  to  me,  I  will  be  stepping.  If  you 
have  nothing  more  to  say  ?  "  he  added,  with  that  burning, 
childish  eagerness  that  was  now  so  common  with  the  man. 

"  No,  my  lord,  I  have  nothing  more,"  said  I,  dryly  enough. 

"  Then  I  think  I  will  be  stepping,"  says  my  lord,  and 
stood  and  looked  at  me  fidgeting  with  his  hat,  which  he  had 
taken  off  again.  "  I  suppose  you  will  have  no  errands?  No. 
I  am  to  meet  Sir  William  Johnson,  but  I  will  be  more  upon 
my  guard."  He  was  silent  for  a  time,  and  then,  smiling: 
"  Do  you  call  to  mind  a  place,  Mackellar — it's  a  little  below 
Engles — where  the  burn  runs  very  deep  under  a  wood  of 
rowans?  I  mind  being  there  when  I  was  a  lad — dear,  it 
cornea  over  me  like  an  old  song !  I  was  after  the  fishing,  and 
I  made  a  bonny  cast.  Eh,  but  I  was  happy.  I  wonder, 
Mackellar,  why  I  am  never  happy  now  ?  " 

"  My  lord,"  said  I,  "  if  you  would  drink  with  more  modera- 
tion you  would  have  the  better  chance.  It  is  an  old  by-word 
that  the  bottle  is  a  false  consoler." 

"  No  doubt,"  said  he,  "  no  doubt.  Well,  I  think  I  will 
be  going." 

"  Good-morning,  my  lord,"  said  I. 

"  Good-morning,  good-morning,"  said  he,  and  so  got  him- 
self at  last  from  the  apartment. 

I  give  that  for  a  fair  specimen  of  my  lord  in  the  morn- 
ing; and  I  must  have  described  my  patron  very  ill  if  the 
reader  does  not  perceive  a  notable  falling  off.  To  behold 

19* 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

the  man  thus  fallen ;  to  know  him  accepted  among  his  com- 
panions for  a  poor,  muddled  toper,  welcome  (if  he  were 
welcome  at  all)  for  the  bare  consideration  of  his  title;  and 
to  recall  the  virtues  he  had  once  displayed  against  such 
odds  of  fortune;  was  not  this  a  thing  at  once  to  rage  and 
to  be  humbled  at? 

In  his  cups,  he  was  more  excessive.  I  will  give  but  the 
one  scene,  close  upon  the  end,  which  is  strongly  marked  upon 
my  memory  to  this  day,  and  at  the  time  affected  me  almost 
with  horror. 

I  was  in  bed,  lying  there  awake,  when  I  heard  him  stum- 
bling on  the  stair  and  singing.  My  lord  had  no  gift  of 
music,  his  brother  had  all  the  graces  of  the  family,  so  that 
when  I  say  singing,  you  are  to  understand  a  manner  of 
high,  caroling  utterance,  which  was  truly  neither  speech  nor 
song.  Something  not  unlike  is  to  be  heard  upon  the  lips 
of  children,  ere  they  learn  shame;  from  those  of  a  man 
grown  elderly  it  had  a  strange  effect.  He  opened  the  door 
with  noisy  precaution ;  peered  in,  shading  his  candle ;  con- 
ceived me  to  slumber ;  entered,  set  his  light  upon  the  table, 
and  took  off  his  hat.  I  saw  him  very  plain ;  a  high,  feverish 
exultation  appeared  to  broil  in  his  veins,  and  he  stood  and 
smiled  and  smirked  upon  the  candle.  Presently  he  lifted  up 
his  arm,  snapped  his  fingers,  and  fell  to  undress.  As  he  did 
so,  having  once  more  forgot  my  presence,  he  took  back  to 
his  singing;  and  now  I  could  hear  the  words,  which  were 
those  from  the  old  song  of  the  "  Twa  Corbies  "  endlessly 
repeated : 

"And  over  his  banes  when  they  are  bare 
The  wind  sail  blaw  for  evermair!" 

I  have  said  there  was  no  music  in  the  man.  His  strains 
had  no  logical  succession  except  in  so  far  as  they  inclined  a 
little  to  the  minor  mode;  but  they  exercised  a  rude  potency 
upon  the  feelings,  and  followed  the  words,  and  signified  the 
feelings  of  the  singer  with  barbaric  fitness.  He  took  it  first 
in  the  time  and  manner  of  a  rant ;  presently  this  ill-favored 
gleefulness  abated,  he  began  to  dwell  upon  the  notes  more 

195 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

feelingly,  and  sunk  at  last  into  a  degree  of  maudlin  pathos 
that  was  to  me  scarce  bearable.  By  equal  steps,  the  original 
briskness  of  his  acts  declined;  and  when  he  was  stripped  to 
his  breeches  he  sat  on  the  bedside  and  fell  to  whimpering. 
I  know  nothing  less  respectable  than  the  tears  of  drunken- 
ness, and  turned  my  back  impatiently  on  this  poor  sight. 

But  he  had  started  himself  (I  am  to  suppose)  on  that 
slippery  descent  of  self-pity;  on  the  which,  to  a  man  un- 
strung by  old  sorrows  and  recent  potations,  there  is  no 
arrest  except  exhaustion.  His  tears  continued  to  flow,  and 
the  man  to  sit  there,  three  parts  naked,  in  the  cold  air  of 
the  chamber.  I  twitted  myself  alternately  with  inhumanity 
and  sentimental  weakness,  now  half  rising  in  my  bed  to 
interfere,  now  reading  myself  lessons  of  indifference  and 
courting  slumber,  until,  upon  a  sudden,  the  quantum  mutatus 
ab  itto  shot  into  my  mind;  and  recalling  to  remembrance  his 
old  wisdom,  constancy,  and  patience,  I  was  overborne  with 
a  pity  almost  approaching  the  passionate,  not  for  my  mas- 
ter alone  but  for  the  so.ns  of  man. 

At  this  I  leaped  from  my  place,  went  over  to  his  side  and 
laid  a  hand  on  his  bare  shoulder,  which  was  cold  as  stone. 
He  uncovered  his  face  and  showed  it  me  all  swollen  and 
begrutten  *  like  a  child's ;  and  at  the  sight  my  impatience 
partially  revived. 

"  Think  shame  to  yourself,"  said  I.  "  This  is  bairnly 
conduct.  I  might  have  been  sniveling  myself,  if  I  had  cared 
to  swill  my  belly  with  wine.  But  I  went  to  my  bed  sober  like 
a  man.  Come;  get  into  yours,  and  have  done  with  tiiis 
pitiable  exhibition." 

"  Oh,  Mackellar,"  said  he,  "  my  heart  is  wae !  " 

"Wae?"  cried  I.  "For  a  good  cause,  I  think.  What 
words  were  these  you  sung  as  you  came  ii\?  Show  pity  to 
others,  we  then  can  talk  of  pity  to  yourself.  You  can  be 
the  one  thing  or  the  other,  but  I  will  be  no  party  to  half- 
way houses.  If  you're  a  striker,  strike,  and  if  you're  a 
bleater,  bleat!" 

"  Cry !  "  cries  he,  with  a  burst,  "  that's  it — strike !  that's 
talking!  Man,  I've  stood  it  all  too  long.  But  when  they 

*  Tear-marked. 

196 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

laid  a  hand  upon  the  child,  when  the  child's  threatened" 
• — his  momentary  vigor  whimpering  off — "  my  child,  my 
Alexander !  " — and  he  was  at  his  tears  again. 

I  took  him  by  the  shoulders  and  shook  him.  "  Alexan- 
der !  "  said  I.  "  Do  you  even  think  of  him?  Not  you !  Look 
yourself  in  the  face  like  a  brave  man,  and  you'll  find  you're 
but  a  self -deceiver.  The  wife,  the  friend,  the  child,  they're 
all  equally  forgot,  and  you  sunk  in  a  mere  bog  of  selfishness." 

"  Mackellar,"  said  he,  with  a  wonderful  return  to  his  old 
manner  and  appearance,  "  you  may  say  what  you  will  of 
me,  but  one  thing  I  never  was — I  was  never  selfish." 

"  I  will  open  your  eyes  in  your  despite,"  said  I.  "  How 
long  have  we  been  here?  and  how  often  have  you  written  to 
your  family?  I  think  this  is  the  first  time  you  were  ever 
separate ;  have  you  written  at  all?  Do  they  know  if  you  are 
dead  or  living?  " 

I  had  caught  him  here  too  openly;  it  braced  his  better 
nature;  there  was  no  more  weeping,  he  thanked  me  very 
penitently,  got  to  bed  and  was  soon  fast  asleep ;  and  the 
first  thing  he  did  the  next  morning  was  to  sit  down  and  begin 
a  letter  to  my  lady ;  a  very  tender  letter  it  was  too,  though 
it  was  never  finished.  Indeed  aU  communication  with  New 
York  was  transacted  by  myself;  and  it  will  be  judged  I 
had  a  thankless  task  of  it.  What  to  tell  my  lady  and  in 
what  words,  and  how  far  to  be  false  and  how  far  cruel,  was 
a  thing  that  kept  me  often  from  my  slumber. 

All  this  while,  no  doubt,  my  lord  waited  with  growing 
impatiency  for  news  of  his  accomplices.  Harris,  it  is  to  be 
thought,  had  promised  a  high  degree  of  expedition;  the 
time  was  already  overpast  when  word  was  to  be  looked  for; 
and  suspense  was  a  very  evil  counselor  to  a  man  of  an  im- 
paired intelligence.  My  lord's  mind  throughout  this  interval 
dwelled  almost  wholly  in  the  wilderness,  following  that  party 
with  whose  deeds  he  had  so  much  concern.  He  continually 
conjured  up  their  camps  and  progresses,  the  fashion  of  the 
country,  the  perpetration  in  a  thousand  different  manners 
of  the  same  horrid  fact,  and  that  consequent  spectacle  of 
the  master's  bones  lying  scattered  in  the.  wind.  These  pri- 

197 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

vate,  guilty  considerations  I  would  continually  observe  to 
peep  forth  in  the  man's  talk,  like  rabbits  from  a  hill.  And 
it  is  the  less  wonder  if  the  scene  of  his  meditations  began 
to  draw  him  bodily. 

It  is  well  known  what  pretext  he  took.  Sir  William  John- 
son had  a  diplomatic  errand  in  these  parts ;  and  my  lord 
and  I  (from  curiosity,  as  was  given  out)  went  in  his  com- 
pany. Sir  William  was  well  attended  and  liberally  supplied. 
Hunters  brought  us  venison,  fish  was  taken  for  us  daily  in 
the  streams,  and  brandy  ran  like  water.  We  proceeded  by 
day  and  encamped  by  night  in  the  military  style,  sentinels 
were  set  and  changed;  every  man  had  his  named  duty;  and 
Sir  William  was  the  spring  of  all.  There  was  much  in  this 
that  might  at  times  have  entertained  me;  but  for  our  mis- 
fortune, the  weather  was  extremely  harsh,  the  days  were  in 
the  beginning  open,  but  the  nights  frosty  from  the  first. 
A  painful  keen  wind  blew  most  of  the  time,  so  that  we  sat 
in  the  boat  with  blue  fingers,  and  at  night,  as  we  scorched 
our  faces  at  the  fire,  the  clothes  upon  our  back  appeared  to 
be  of  paper.  A  dreadful  solitude  surrounded  our  steps ; 
the  land  was  quite  dispeopled,  there  was  no  smoke  of  fires, 
and  save  for  a  single  boat  of  merchants  on  the  second  day, 
we  met  no  travelers.  The  season  was  indeed  late,  but  this 
desertion  of  the  waterways  impressed  Sir  William  himself; 
and  I  have  heard  him  more  than  once  express  a  sense  of  in- 
timidation. "  I  have  come  too  late  I  fear ;  they  must  have 
dug  up  the  hatchet,"  he  said;  and  the  future  proved  how 
justly  he  had  reasoned. 

I  could  never  depict  the  blackness  of  my  soul  upon  this 
journey.  I  have  none  of  those  minds  that  are  in  love  with 
the  unusual:  to  see  the  winter  coming  and  to  lie  in  the  field 
so  far  from  any  house,  oppressed  me  like  a  nightmare;  it 
seemed,  indeed,  a  kind  of  awful  braving  of  God's  power ; 
and  this  thought,  which  I  dare  say  only  writes  me  down  a 
coward,  was  greatly  exaggerated  by  my  private  knowledge 
of  the  errand  we  were  come  upon.  I  was  besides  encumbered 
by  my  duties  to  Sir  William,  whom  it  fell  upon  me  to  enter- 
tain; for  my  lord  was  quite  sunk  into  a  state  bordering  on 

198 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

pervigilium,  watching  the  woods  with  a  rapt  eye,  sleeping 
scarce  at  all,  and  speaking  sometimes  not  twenty  words  in  a 
whole  day.  That  which  he  said  was  still  coherent;  but  it 
turned  almost  invariably  upon  the  party  for  whom  he  kept 
his  crazy  lookout.  He  would  tell  Sir  William  often,  and 
always  as  if  it  were  a  new  communication,  that  he  had  "  a 
brother  somewhere  in  the  woods,"  and  beg  that  the  sentinels 
should  be  directed  "  to  inquire  for  him."  "  I  am  anxious 
for  news  of  my  brother,"  he  would  say.  And  sometimes, 
when  we  were  under  way,  he  would  fancy  he  spied  a  canoe 
far  off  upon  the  water  or  a  camp  on  the  shore,  and  exhibit 
painful  agitation.  It  was  impossible  but  Sir  William  should 
be  struck  with  these  singularities;  and  at  last  he  led  me 
aside,  and  hinted  his  uneasiness.  I  touched  my  head  and 
shook  it;  quite  rejoiced  to  prepare  a  little  testimony  against 
possible  disclosures. 

"  But  in  that  case,"  cries  Sir  William,  "  is  it  wise  to  let 
him  go  at  large  ?  " 

"  Those  that  know  him  best,"  said  I,  "  are  persuaded  that 
he  should  be  humored." 

"  Well,  well,"  replied  Sir  William,  "  it  is  none  of  my 
affairs.  But  if  I  had  understood,  you  would  never  have 
been  here." 

Our  advance  into  this  savage  country  had  thus  unevent- 
fully proceeded  for  about  a  week  when  we  encamped  for 
a  night  at  a  place  where  the  river  ran  among  considerable 
mountains  clothed  in  wood.  The  fires  were  lighted  on  a 
level  space  at  the  water's  edge ;  and  we  supped  and  lay  down 
to  sleep  in  the  customary  fashion.  It  chanced  the  night  fell 
murderously  cold;  the  stringency  of  the  frost  seized  and 
bit  me  through  my  coverings,  so  that  pain  kept  me  wake- 
ful ;  and  I  was  afoot  again  before  the  peep  of  day,  crouching 
by  the  fires  or  trotting  to  and  fro  at  the  stream's  edge,  to 
combat  the  aching  of  my  limbs.  At  last  dawn  began  to 
break  upon  hoar  woods  and  mountains,  the  sleepers  rolled 
in  their  robes,  and  the  boisterous  river  dashing  among  spears 
of  ice.  I  stood  looking  about  me,  swaddled  in  my  stiff  coat 
of  a  bull's  fur,  and  the  breath  smoking  from  my  scorched 

199 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

nostrils,  when,  upon  a  sudden,  a  singular,  eager  cry  rang 
from  the  borders  of  the  wood.  The  sentries  answered  it,  the 
sleepers  sprung  to  their  feet;  one  pointed,  the  rest  fol- 
lowed his  direction  with  their  eyes,  and  there,  upon  the  edge 
of  the  forest  and  betwixt  two  trees,  we  beheld  the  figure  of 
a  man  reaching  forth  his  hands  like  one  in  ecstasy.  The  next 
moment  he  ran  forward,  fell  on  his  knees  at  the  side  of  the 
camp,  and  burst  in  tears. 

This  was  John  Mountain,  the  trader,  escaped  from  the 
most  horrid  perils ;  and  his  first  word,  when  he  got  speech, 
was  to  ask  if  we  had  seen  Secundra  Dass. 

"  Seen  what  ?  "  cries  Sir  William. 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  we  have  seen  nothing  of  him.     Why  ?  " 

"  Nothing?  "  says  Mountain.  "  Then  I  was  right  after 
all."  With  that  he  struck  his  palm  upon  his  brow.  "  But 
what  takes  him  back  ?  "  he  cried.  "  What  takes  the  man 
back  among  dead  bodies?  There  is  some  damned  mystery 
here." 

This  was  a  word  which  highly  aroused  our  curiosity,  but 
I  shall  be  more  perspicacious  if  I  narrate  these  incidents  in 
their  true  order.  Here  follows  a  narrative  which  I  have  com- 
piled out  of  three  sources,  not  very  consistent  in  all  points: 

First,  a  written  statement  by  Mountain,  in  which  every- 
thing criminal  is  cleverly  smuggled  out  of  view. 

Second,  two  conversations  with  Secundra  Dass;   and 

Third,  many  conversations  with  Mountain  himself,  in  which 
he  was  pleased  to  be  entirely  plain;  for  the  truth  is  he  re- 
garded me  as  an  accomplice. 

NARRATIVE  OF  THE  TRADER,  MOUNTAIN 

The  crew  that  went  up  the  river  under  the  joint  command 
of  Captain  Harris  and  the  Master  numbered  in  all  nine 
persons,  of  whom  (if  I  except  Secundra  Dass)  there  was 
not  one  that  had  not  merited  the  gallows.  From  Harris 
downward  the  voyagers  were  notorious  in  that  colony  for 
desperate,  bloody-minded  miscreants;  some  were  reputed 
pirates,  the  most  hawkers  of  rum ;  all  ranters  and  drinkers ; 

200 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

all  fit  associates,  embarking  together  without  remorse,  upon 
this  treacherous  and  murderous  design.  I  could  not  hear 
there  was  much  discipline  or  any  set  captain  in  the  gang; 
but  Harris  and  four  others,  Mountain  himself,  two  Scotch- 
men— Pinkerton  and  Hastie — and  a  man  of  the  name  of 
Hicks,  a  drunken  shoemaker,  put  their  heads  together  and 
agreed  upon  the  course.  In  a  material  sense,  they  were  well 
enough  provided ;  and  the  Master  in  particular  brought  with 
him  a  tent  where  he  might  enjoy  some  privacy  and  shelter. 

Even  this  small  indulgence  told  against  him  in  the  minds 
of  his  companions.  But  indeed  he  was  in  a  position  so  en- 
tirely false  (and  even  ridiculous)  that  all  his  habit  of  com- 
mand and  arts  of  pleasing  were  here  thrown  away.  In  the 
eyes  of  all,  except  Secundra  Dass,  he  figured  as  a  common 
gull  and  designated  victim ;  going  unconsciously  to  death ; 
yet  he  could  not  but  suppose  himself  the  contriver  and  the 
leader  of  the  expedition ;  he  could  scarce  help  but  so  con- 
duct himself;  and  at  the  least  hint  of  authority  or  con- 
descension, his  deceivers  would  be  laughing  in  their  sleeves. 
I  was  so  used  to  see  and  to  conceive  him  in  a  high,  authorita- 
tive attitude  that  when  I  had  conceived  his  position  on  this 
journey  I  was  pained  and  could  have  blushed.  How  soon  he 
may  have  entertained  a  first  surmise  we  cannot  know;  but 
it  was  long,  and  the  party  had  advanced  into  the  wilderness 
beyond  the  reach  of  any  help  ere  he  was  fully  awakened  to 
the  truth. 

It  fell  thus.  Harris  and  some  others  had  drawn  apart 
into  the  woods  for  consultation,  when  they  were  startled  by 
a  rustling  in  the  brush.  They  were  all  accustomed  to  the 
arts  of  Indian  warfare,  and  Mountain  had  not  only  lived 
and  hunted,  but  fought  and  earned  some  reputation  with 
the  savages.  He  could  move  in  the  woods  without  noise, 
and  follow  a  trail  like  a  hound;  and  upon  the  emergence 
of  this  alert,  he  was  deputed  by  the  rest  to  plunge  into  the 
thicket  for  intelligence.  He  was  soon  convinced  there 
was  a  man  in  his  close  neighborhood,  moving  with  precau- 
tion but  without  art  among  the  leaves  and  branches ;  and 
coming  shortly  to  a  place  of  advantage,  he  was  able  to 

201 


observe  Secundra  Dass  crawling  briskly  off  with  many  back- 
ward glances.  At  this  he  knew  not  whether  to  laugh  or  cry ; 
and  his  accomplices,  when  he  had  returned  and  reported, 
were  in  much  the  same  dubiety.  There  was  now  no  danger 
of  an  Indian  onslaught;  but  on  the  other  hand,  since  Se- 
cundra Dass  was  at  the  pains  to  spy  upon  them,  it  was 
highly  probable  he  knew  English,  and  if  he  knew  English 
it  was  certain  the  whole  of  their  design  was  in  the  Master's 
knowledge.  There  was  one  singularity  in  the  position.  If 
Secundra  Dass  knew  and  concealed  his  knowledge  of  English, 
Harris  was  a  proficient  in  several  of  the  tongues  of  India, 
and  as  his  career  in  that  part  of  the  world  had  been  a  great 
deal  worse  than  profligate,  he  had  not  thought  proper  to 
remark  upon  the  circumstance.  Each  side  had  thus  a  spy- 
hole on  the  counsels  of  the  other.  The  plotters,  so  soon  as 
this  advantage  was  explained,  returned  to  camp ;  Harris, 
hearing  the  Hindoostanee  was  once  more  closeted  with  his 
master,  crept  to  the  side  of  the  tent;  and  the  rest,  sitting 
about  the  fire  with  their  tobacco,  awaited  his  report  with 
impatience.  When  he  came  at  last  his  face  was  very  black. 
He  had  overheard  enough  to  confirm  the  worst  of  his  sus- 
picions. Secundra  Dass  was  a  good  English  scholar ;  he 
had  been  some  days  creeping  and  listening,  the  Master  was 
now  fully  informed  of  the  conspiracy,  and  the  pair  proposed 
on  the  morrow  to  fall  out  of  line  at  a  carrying  place  and 
plunge  at  a  venture  in  the  woods:  preferring  the  full  risk 
of  famine,  savage  beasts,  and  savage  men  to  their  position 
in  the  midst  of  traitors. 

What,  then,  was  to  be  done?  Some  were  for  killing  the 
Master  on  the  spot ;  but  Harris  assured  them  that  would  be 
a  crime  without  profit,  since  the  secret  of  the  treasure  must 
die  along  with  him  that  buried  it.  Others  were  for  desisting 
at  once  from  the  whole  enterprise  and  making  for  New 
York ;  but  the  appetizing  name  of  treasure,  and  the  thought 
of  the  long  way  they  had  already  traveled,  dissuaded  the 
majority.  I  imagine  they  were  dull  fellows  for  the  most 
part.  Harris,  indeed,  had  some  acquirements,  Mountain 
waa  no  fool,  Hastie  was  an  educated  man;  but  even  these 

202 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

had  manifestly  failed  in  life,  and  the  rest  were  the  dregs 
of  colonial  rascality.  The  conclusion  they  reached,  at  least, 
was  more  the  offspring  of  greed  and  hope  than  reason.  It 
was  to  temporize,  to  be  wary  and  watch  the  Master,  to  be 
silent  and  supply  no  further  aliment  to  his  suspicions,  and 
to  depend  entirely  (as  well  as  I  make  out)  on  the  chance 
that  their  victim  was  as  greedy,  hopeful,  and  irrational  as 
themselves,  and  might,  after  all,  betray  his  life  and  treasure. 

Twice,  in  the  course  of  the  next  day,  Secundra  and  the 
Master  must  have  appeared  to  themselves  to  have  escaped; 
and  twice  they  were  circumvented.  The  Master,  save  that 
the  second  time  he  grew  a  little  pale,  displayed  no  sign  of 
disappointment,  apologized  for  the  stupidity  with  which  he 
had  fallen  aside,  thanked  his  recapturers  as  for  a  service, 
and  rejoined  the  caravan  with  all  his  usual  gallantry  and 
cheerfulness  of  mien  and  bearing.  But  it  is  certain  he  had 
smelled  a  rat ;  for  from  thenceforth  he  and  Secundra  spoke 
only  in  each  other's  ear,  and  Harris  listened  and  shivered 
by  the  tent  in  vain.  The  same  night  it  was  announced  they 
were  to  leave  the  boats  and  proceed  by  foot :  a  circumstance 
which  (as  it  put  an  end  to  the  confusion  of  the  portages) 
greatly  lessened  the  chances  of  escape. 

And  now  there  began  between  the  two  sides  a  silent  con- 
test, for  life  on  the  one  hand,  for  riches  on  the  other.  They 
were  now  near  that  quarter  of  the  desert  in  which  the  Mas- 
ter himself  must  begin  to  play  the  part  of  guide ;  and  using 
this  for  a  pretext  of  prosecution,  Harris  and  his  men  sat 
with  him  every  night  about  the  fire,  and  labored  to  entrap 
him  into  some  admission.  If  he  let  slip  his  secret,  he  knew 
well  it  was  the  warrant  for  his  death;  on  the  other  hand, 
he  durst  not  refuse  their  questions,  and  must  appear  to  help 
them  to  the  best  of  his  capacity,  or  he  practically  published 
his  mistrust.  And  yet  Mountain  assures  me  the  man's  brow 
was  never  ruffled.  He  sat  in  the  midst  of  these  jackals,  hi* 
life  depending  by  a  thread,  like  some  easy,  witty  householder 
at  home  by  his  own  fire;  an  answer  he  had  for  everything 
— as  often  as  not,  a  jesting  answer;  avoided  threats,  evaded 
insults;  talked,  laughed,  and  listened  with  an  open  counte- 

203 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

nance;  and,  in  short,  conducted  himself  in  such  a  manner 
as  must  have  disarmed  suspicion,  and  went  near  to  stagger 
knowledge.  Indeed  Mountain  confessed  to  me  they  would 
soon  have  disbelieved  the  captain's  story,  and  supposed  their 
designated  victim  still  quite  innocent  of  their  designs,  but 
for  the  fact  that  he  continued  (however  ingeniously)  to 
give  the  slip  to  questions,  and  the  yet  stronger  confirmation 
of  his  repeated  efforts  to  escape.  The  last  of  these,  which 
brought  things  to  a  head,  I  am  now  to  relate.  And  first  I 
should  say  that  by  this  time  the  temper  of  Harris's  com- 
panions was  utterly  worn  out ;  civility  was  scarce  pretended ; 
and  for  one  very  significant  circumstance,  the  Master  and 
Secundra  had  been  (on  some  pretext)  deprived  of  weapons. 
On  their  side,  however,  the  threatened  pair  kept  up  the 
parade  of  friendship  handsomely;  Secundra  was  all  bows, 
the  master  all  smiles ;  and  on  the  last  night  of  the  truce 
he  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  sing  for  the  diversion  of 
the  company.  It  was  observed  that  he  had  also  eaten  with 
unusual  heartiness,  and  drank  deep:  doubtless  from 
design. 

At  least,  about  three  in  the  morning,  he  came  out  of 
the  tent  into  the  open  air,  audibly  mourning  and  complain- 
ing, with  all  the  manner  of  a  sufferer  from  surfeit.  For 
some  while  Secundra  publicly  attended  on  his  patron,  who 
at  last  became  more  easy,  and  fell  asleep  on  the  frosty 
ground  behind  the  tent :  the  Indian  returning  within.  Some 
time  after  the  sentry  was  changed;  had  the  Master  pointed 
out  to  him,  where  he  lay  in  what  is  called  a  robe  of  buffalo ; 
and  thenceforth  kept  an  eye  upon  him  (he  declared)  without 
remission.  With  the  first  of  the  dawn,  a  draught  of  wind 
came  suddenly  and  blew  open  one  side  the  corner  of  the 
robe;  and  with  the  same  puff,  the  Master's  hat  whirled  in 
the  air  and  fell  some  yards  away. 

The  sentry,  thinking  it  remarkable  the  sleeper  should  not 
awaken,  thereupon  drew  near:  and  the  next  moment,  with 
a  great  shout,  informed  the  camp  their  prisoner  was  escaped. 
He  had  left  behind  his  Indian,  who  (in  the  first  vivacity  of 
the  surprise)  came  near  to  pay  the  forfeit  of  his  life,  and 

204 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

•was,  in  fact,  inhumanly  mishandled;  but  Secundra,  in  the 
midst  of  threats  and  cruelties,  stuck  to  it  with  extraordinary 
loyalty  that  he  was  quite  ignorant  of  his  Master's  plans, 
which  might  indeed  be  true,  and  of  the  manner  of  his  escape, 
which  was  demonstrably  false.  Nothing  was  therefore  left 
to  the  conspirators  but  to  rely  entirely  on  the  skill  of  Moun- 
tain. The  night  had  been  frosty,  the  ground  quite  hard; 
and  the  sun  was  no  sooner  up  than  a  strong  thaw  set  in. 
It  was  Mountain's  boast  that  few  men  could  have  followed 
that  trail,  and  still  fewer  (even  of  the  native  Indians)  found 
it.  The  Master  had  thus  a  long  start  before  his  pursuers 
had  the  scent,  and  he  must  have  traveled  with  surprising 
energy  for  a  pedestrian  so  unused,  since  it  was  near  noon 
before  Mountain  had  a  view  of  him.  At  this  conjuncture 
the  trader  was  alone,  all  his  companions  following,  at  his 
own  request,  several  hundred  yards  in  the  rear ;  he  knew  the 
Master  was  unarmed;  his  heart  was  besides  heated  with  the 
exercise  and  lust  of  hunting;  and  seeing  the  quarry  so 
close,  so  defenseless,  and  seemingly  so  fatigued,  he  vain- 
gloriously  determined  to  effect  the  capture  with  his  single 
hand.  A  step  or  two  further  brought  him  to  one  margin 
of  a  little  clearing;  on  the  other,  with  his  arms  folded  and 
his  back  to  a  huge  stone,  the  Master  sat.  It  is  possible 
Mountain  may  have  made  a  rustle,  it  is  certain,  at  least, 
the  Master  raised  his  head  and  gazed  directly  at  that  quarter 
of  the  thicket  where  his  hunter  lay.  "  I  could  not  be  sure 
he  saw  me,"  Mountain  said;  "he  just  looked  my  way  like 
a  man  with  his  mind  made  up,  and  all  the  courage  ran  out  of 
me  like  rum  out  of  a  bottle."  And  presently,  when  the 
Master  looked  away  again,  and  appeared  to  resume  those 
meditations  in  which  he  had  sat  immersed  before  the  trader's 
coming,  Mountain  slunk  stealthily  back  and  returned  to 
seek  the  help  of  his  companions. 

And  now  began  the  chapter  of  surprises,  for  the  scout 
had  scarce  informed  the  others  of  his  discovery,  and  they 
were  yet  preparing  their  weapons  for  a  rush  upon  the 
fugitive,  when  the  man  himself  appeared  in  their  midst,  walk- 
ing openly  and  quietly,  with  his  hands  behind  his  back. 

205 


THE   MASTER   OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  Ah,  men !  "  says  he,  on  his  beholding  them.  "  Here  is 
a  fortunate  encounter.  Let  us  get  back  to  camp." 

Mountain  had  not  mentioned  his  own  weakness  or  the  Mas- 
ter's disconcerting  gaze  upon  the  thicket,  so  that  (with  all 
the  rest)  his  return  appeared  spontaneous.  For  all  that, 
a  hubbub  arose;  oaths  flew,  fists  were  shaken,  and  guns 
pointed. 

"  Let  us  get  back  to  camp,"  said  the  Master.  "  I  have 
an  explanation  to  make,  but  it  must  be  laid  before  you  all. 
And  in  the  meanwhile  I  would  put  up  these  weapons,  one  of 
which  might  very  easily  go  off  and  blow  away  your  hopes  of 
treasure.  I  would  not  kill,"  says  he,  smiling,  "  the  goose 
with  the  golden  eggs." 

The  charm  of  his  superiority  once  more  triumphed;  and 
the  party,  in  no  particular  order,  set  off  on  their  return.  By 
the  way  he  found  occasion  to  get  a  word  or  two  apart  with 
Mountain. 

"  You  are  a  clever  fellow  and  a  bold,"  says  he,  "  but  I  am 
not  so  sure  that  you  are  doing  yourself  justice,  I  would 
have  you  to  consider  whether  you  would  not  do  better,  ay, 
and  safer,  to  serve  me  instead  of  serving  so  commonplace  a 
rascal  as  Mr.  Harris.  Consider  of  it,"  he  concluded,  deal- 
ing the  man  a  gentle  tap  upon  the  shoulder,  "  and  don't 
be  in  haste.  Dead  or  alive,  you  will  find  me  an  ill  man  to 
quarrel  with." 

When  they  were  come  back  to  the  camp,  where  Harris  and 
Pinkerton  stood  guard  over  Secundra,  these  two  ran  upon 
the  Master  like  viragoes,  and  were  amazed  out  of  measure 
when  they  were  bidden  by  their  comrades  to  "  stand  back 
and  hear  what  the  gentleman  had  to  say."  The  Master 
had  not  flinched  before  their  onslaught;  nor,  at  this  proof 
of  the  ground  he  had  gained,  did  he  betray  the  least 
sufficiency. 

"  Do  not  let  us  be  in  haste,"  says  he.  "  Meat  first  and 
public  speaking  after." 

With  that  they  made  a  hasty  meal ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
done,  the  Master,  leaning  on  one  elbow,  began  his  speech. 
He  spoke  long,  addressing  himself  to  each  except  Harris, 

206 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

finding  for  each  (with  the  same  exception)  some  particular 
flattery.  He  called  them  "  bold,  honest  blades,"  declared 
he  had  never  seen  a  more  jovial  company,  work  better  done, 
or  pains  more  merrily  supported.  "  Well,  then,"  says  he, 
"  some  one  asks  me  '  Why  the  devil  I  ran  away  ?  '  But  that 
is  scarce  worth  answer,  for  I  think  you  all  know  pretty  well. 
But  you  know  only  pretty  well:  that  is  a  point  I  shall  ar- 
rive at  presently,  and  be  you  ready  to  remark  it  when  it 
comes.  There  is  a  traitor  here:  a  double  traitor:  I  will 
give  you  his  name  before  I  am  done;  and  let  that  suffice 
for  now.  But  here  comes  some  other  gentleman  and  asks 
me  '  Why  in  the  devil  I  came  back?  '  Well,  before  I  answer 
that  question,  I  have  one  to  put  to  you.  It  was  this  cur  here, 
this  Harris,  that  speaks  Hindoostanee? "  cries  he,  rising 
on  one  knee  and  pointing  fair  at  the  man's  face,  with  a  ges- 
ture indescribably  menacing;  and  when  he  had  been  an- 
swered in  the  affirmative,  "  Ah ! "  says  he,  "  then  are  all 
my  suspicions  verified,  and  I  did  rightly  to  come  back.  Now, 
men,  hear  the  truth  for  the  first  time."  Thereupon  he 
launched  forth  in  a  long  story,  told  with  extraordinary  skill 
how  he  had  all  along  suspected  Harris,  how  he  had  found 
the  confirmation  of  his  fears,  and  how  Harris  must  have  mis- 
represented what  passed  between  Secundra  and  himself.  At 
this  point  he  made  a  bold  stroke  with  excellent  effect.  "  I 
suppose,"  says  he,  "  you  think  you  are  going  shares  with 
Harris,  I  suppose  you  think  you  will  see  to  that  yourselves ; 
you  would  naturally  not  think  so  flat  a  rogue  could  cozen 
you.  But  have  a  care!  These  half  idiots  have  a  sort  of 
cunning,  as  the  skunk  has  its  stench;  and  it  may  be  news 
to  you  that  Harris  has  taken  care  of  himself  already.  Yes, 
for  him  the  treasure  is  all  money  in  the  bargain.  You  must 
find  it  or  go  starve.  But  he  has  been  paid  beforehand;  my 
brother  paid  him  to  destroy  me;  look  at  him,  if  you  doubt 
— look  at  him,  grinning  and  gulping,  a  detected  thief !  " 
Thence,  having  made  this  happy  impression,  he  explained  how 
he  had  escaped,  and  thought  better  of  it,  and  at  last  con- 
cluded to  come  back,  lay  the  truth  before  the  company, 
and  take  his  chance  with  them  once  more:  persuaded,  as  he 

207 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

was,  they  would  instantly  depose  Harris  and  elect  some 
other  leader.  "  There  is  the  whole  truth,"  said  he :  "  and 
with  one  exception,  I  put  myself  entirely  in  your  hands. 
What  is  the  exception?  There  he  sits,"  he  cried,  pointing 
once  more  to  Harris ;  "  a  man  that  has  to  die !  Weapons 
and  conditions  are  all  one  to  me;  put  me  face  to  face  with 
him,  and  if  you  give  me  nothing  but  a  stick,  in  five  minutes 
I  will  show  you  a  sop  of  broken  carrion  fit  for  dogs  to 
roll  in." 

It  was  dark  night  when  he  made  an  end ;  they  had  listened 
in  almost  perfect  silence;  but  the  firelight  scarce  permitted 
any  one  to  judge,  from  the  look  of  his  neighbors,  with  what 
result  of  persuasion  or  conviction.  Indeed,  the  Master  had 
set  himself  in  the  brightest  place,  and  kept  his  face  there, 
to  be  the  center  of  men's  eyes:  doubtless  on  a  profound 
calculation.  Silence  followed  for  awhile,  and  presently  the 
whole  party  became  involved  in  disputation:  the  Master  ly- 
ing on  his  back  with  his  hands  knit  under  his  head  and  one 
knee  flung  across  the  other,  like  a  person  unconcerned  in 
the  result.  And  here,  I  dare  say,  his  bravado  carried  him 
too  far  and  prejudiced  his  case.  At  least,  after  a  cast  or  two 
backward  and  forward,  opinion  settled  finally  against  him. 
It's  possible  he  hoped  to  repeat  the  business  of  the  pirate 
ship,  and  be  himself,  perhaps,  on  hard  enough  conditions, 
elected  leader ;  and  things  went  so  far  that  way  that  Mountain 
actually  threw  out  the  proposition.  But  the  rock  he  split  upon 
was  Hastie.  This  fellow  was  not  well  liked,  being  sour  and 
slow,  with  an  ugly,  glowering  disposition,  but  he  had  studied 
some  time  for  the  Church  at  Edinburgh  College,  before  ill 
conduct  had  destroyed  his  prospects,  an4  he  now  remem- 
bered and  applied  what  he  had  learned.  Indeed,  he  had  not 
proceeded  very  far,  when  the  Master  rolled  carelessly  upon 
one  side,  which  was  done  (in  Mountain's  opinion)  to  conceal 
the  beginnings  of  despair  upon  his  countenance.  Hastie 
dismissed  the  most  of  what  they  had  heard  as  nothing  to  the 
matter:  what  they  wanted  was  the  treasure.  All  that  was 
said  of  Harris  might  be  true,  and  they  would  have  to  see 
to  that  in  time.  But  what  had  that  to  do  with  the  treasure? 

208 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

They  had  heard  a  vast  of  words;  but  the  truth  was  just 
this,  that  Mr.  Durie  was  damnably  frightened  and  had  sev- 
eral times  run  off.  Here  he  was — whether  caught  or  come 
back  was  all  one  to  Hastie:  the  point  was  to  make  an  end 
of  the  business.  As  for  the  talk  of  deposing  and  electing 
captains,  he  hoped  they  were  all  free  men  and  could  attend 
their  own  affairs.  That  was  dust  flung  in  their  eyes,  and  so 
was  the  proposal  to  fight  Harris.  "  He  shall  fight  no  one 
in  this  camp,  I  can  tell  him  that,"  said  Hastie.  "  We  had 
trouble  enough  to  get  his  arms  away  from  him,  and  we 
should  look  pretty  fools  to  give  them  back  again.  But  if 
it's  excitement  the  gentleman  is  after,  I  can  supply  him  with 
more  than  perhaps  he  cares  about.  For  I  have  no  intention 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  life  in  these  mountains ;  already 
I  have  been  too  long;  and  I  propose  that  he  shall  imme- 
diately tell  us  where  that  treasure  is,  or  else  immediately  be 
shot.  And  there,"  says  he,  producing  his  weapon,  "  there 
is  the  pistol  that  I  mean  to  use." 

"  Come,  I  call  you  a  man,"  cries  the  Master,  sitting  up  and 
looking  at  the  speaker  with  an  air  of  admiration. 

"  I  didn't  ask  you  to  call  me  anything,"  returned  Hastie ; 
"  what  is  it  to  be?  " 

"  That's  an  idle  question,"  said  the  Master.  "  Needs 
must  when  the  devil  drives.  The  truth  is  we  are  within  easy 
walk  of  the  place,  and  I  will  show  it  you  to-morrow." 

With  that,  as  if  all  were  quite  settled,  and  settled  exactly 
to  his  mind,  he  walked  off  to  his  tent,  whither  Secundra 
had  preceded  him. 

I  cannot  think  of  these  last  turns  and  wriggles  of  my  old 
enemy  except  with  admiration;  scarce  even  pity  is  mingled 
with  the  sentiment,  so  strongly  the  man  supported,  so  boldly 
resisted  his  misfortunes.  Even  at  that  hour,  when  he  per- 
ceived himself  quite  lost,  when  he  saw  he  had  but  effected 
an  exchange  of  enemies,  and  overthrown  Harris  to  set  Hastie 
up,  no  sign  of  weakness  appeared  in  his  behavior,  and  he 
withdrew  to  his  tent,  already  determined  (I  must  suppose) 
upon  affronting  the  incredible  hazard  of  his  last  expedient 
with  the  same  easy,  assured,  genteel  expression  and  de- 

209 


THE   MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

meaner  as  he  might  have  left  a  theater  withal  to  join  a 
supper  of  the  wits.  But  doubtless  within,  if  we  could  see 
there,  his  soul  trembled. 

Early  in  the  night,  word  went  about  the  camp  that  he  was 
sick;  and  the  first  thing  the  next  morning  he  called  Hastie 
to  his  side,  and  inquired  most  anxiously  if  he  had  any  skill 
in  medicine.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  was  a  vanity  of  that 
fallen  divinity  student's  to  which  he  had  cunningly  addressed 
himself.  Hastie  examined  him;  and  being  flattered,  igno- 
rant, and  highly  suspicious,  knew  not  in  the  least  whether  the 
man  was  sick  or  malingering.  In  this  state,  he  went  forth 
again  to  his  companions ;  and  (as  the  thing  which  would 
give  himself  most  consequence  either  way)  announced  that 
the  patient  was  in  a  fair  way  to  die. 

"  For  all  that,"  he  added,  with  an  oath,  "  and  if  he  bursts 
by  the  wayside,  he  must  bring  us  this  morning  to  the 
treasure." 

But  there  were  several  in  the  camp  (Mountain  among  the 
number)  whom  this  brutality  revolted.  They  would  have 
seen  the  Master  pistoled,  or  pistoled  him  themselves,  without 
the  smallest  sentiment  of  pity ;  but  they  seem  to  have  been 
touched  by  his  gallant  fight  and  unequivocal  defeat  the  night 
before;  perhaps,  too,  they  were  even  already  beginning  to 
oppose  themselves  to  their  new  leader;  at  least,  they  now 
declared  that  (if  the  man  was  sick)  he  should  hare  a  day's 
rest  in  spite  of  Hastie's  teeth. 

The  next  morning  he  was  manifestly  worse,  and  Hastie 
lf  began  to  display  something  of  humane  concern,  so 
easily  does  even  the  pretense  of  doctoring  awaken  sympathy. 
The  third,  the  Master  called  Mountain  and  Hastie  to  the 
tent,  announced  himself  to  be  dying,  gave  them  full  particu- 
lars as  to  the  position  of  the  cache,  and  begged  them  to  set 
out  incontinently  on  the  quest,  so  that  they  might  see  if  he 
deceived  them,  and  (if  they  were  at  first  unsuccessful),  he 
should  be  able  to  correct  their  error. 

But  here  arose  a  difficulty  on  which  he  doubtless  counted. 
None  of  these  men  would  trust  another,  none  would  consent 
to  stay  behind.  On  the  other  hand,  although  the  Master 

210 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

seemed  extremely  low,  spoke  scarce  above  a  whisper,  and  lay 
much  of  the  time  insensible,  it  was  still  possible  it  was  a 
fraudulent  sickness ;  and  if  all  went  treasure-hunting  it  might 
prove  they  had  gone  upon  a  wild-goose  chase,  and  return  to 
find  their  prisoner  flown.  They  concluded,  therefore,  to 
hang  idling  round  the  camp,  alleging  sympathy  to  their 
reason ;  and  certainly,  so  mingled  are  our  dispositions,  several 
were  sincerely  (if  not  very  deeply)  affected  by  the  natural 
peril  of  the  man  whom  they  callously  designed  to  murder. 
In  the  afternoon  Hastie  was  called  to  the  bedside  to  pray: 
the  which  (incredible  as  it  must  appear)  he  did  with  unction; 
about  eight  at  night  the  wailing  of  Secundra  announced  that 
all  was  over,  and  before  ten  the  Indian,  with  a  link  stuck  in 
the  ground,  was  toiling  at  the  grave.  Sunrise  of  next  day 
beheld  the  Master's  burial,  all  hands  attending  with  great 
decency  of  demeanor;  and  the  body  was  laid  in  the  earth 
wrapped  in  a  fur  robe,  with  only  the  face  uncovered ;  which 
last  was  of  a  waxy  whiteness,  and  had  the  nostrils  plugged 
according  to  some  Oriental  habit  of  Secundra's.  No  sooner 
was  the  grave  filled  than  the  lamentations  of  the  Indian  once 
more  struck  concern  to  every  heart ;  and  it  appears  this  gang 
of  murderers,  so  far  from  resenting  his  outcries,  although 
both  distressful  and  (in  such  a  country)  perilous  to  their 
own  safety,  roughly  but  kindly  endeavored  to  console  him. 

But  if  human  nature  is  even  in  the  worst  of  men  occasion- 
ally kind,  it  is  still,  and  before  all  things,  greedy ;  and  they 
soon  turned  from  the  mourner  to  their  own  concerns.  The 
cache  of  the  treasure  being  hard  by,  although  yet  uniden- 
tified, it  was  concluded  not  to  break  camp ;  and  the  day 
passed,  on  the  part  of  the  voyagers,  in  unavailing  exploration 
of  the  woods,  Secundra  the  while  lying  on  his  master's  grave. 
That  night  they  placed  no  sentinel,  but  lay  all  together  about 
the  fire,  in  the  customary  woodman  fashion,  the  heads  out- 
ward, like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  Morning  found  them  in  the 
same  disposition;  only  Pinkerton,  who  lay  on  Mountain's 
right,  between  him  and  Hastie,  had  (in  the  hours  of  darkness) 
been  secretly  butchered,  and  there  lay,  still  wrapped  as  to  his 
body  in  his  mantle,  but  offering  above  that  ungodly  and  hor- 

811 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

rific  spectacle  of  the  scalped  head.  The  gang  were  that 
morning  as  pale  as  a  company  of  phantoms,  for  the  per- 
tinacity of  Indian  war  (or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  Indian 
murder),  was  well  known  to  all.  But  they  laid  the  chief 
blame  on  their  unsentineled  posture ;  and  fired  with  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  treasure,  d  termined  to  continue  where  they 
were.  Pinkerton  was  bu  ied  hard  by  the  Master;  the  sur- 
vivors again  passed  the  day  in  exploration,  and  returned  in 
a  mingled  humor  of  anxiety  and  hope,  being  partly  certain 
they  were  now  close  on  the  discovery  of  what  they  sought, 
and  on  the  other  hand  (with  the  return  of  darkness)  were  in- 
fected with  the  fear  of  Indians.  Mountain  was  the  first 
sentry ;  he  declares  he  neither  slept  nor  yet  sat  down,  but  kept 
his  watch  with  a  perpetual  and  straining  vigilance,  and  it  was 
even  with  unconcern  that  (when  he  saw  by  the  stars  his  time 
was  up)  he  drew  near  the  fire  to  waken  his  successor.  This 
man  (it  was  Hicks  the  shoemaker)  slept  on  the  lee-side  of  the 
circle,  somewhat  further  off  in  consequence  than  those  to 
windward,  and  in  a  place  darkened  by  the  blowing  smoke. 
Mountain  stooped  and  took  him  by  the  shoulder;  his  hand 
was  at  once  smeared  by  some  adhesive  wetness ;  and  (the  wind 
at  the  moment  veering)  the  firelight  shone  upon  the  sleeper 
and  showed  him,  like  Pinkerton,  dead  and  scalped. 

It  was  clear  they  had  fallen  in  the  hands  of  one  of  those 
matchless  Indian  bravos,  that  will  sometimes  follow  a  party 
for  days,  and  in  spite  of  indefatigable  travel  and  unsleeping 
watch,  continue  to  keep  up  with  their  advance  and  steal  a 
scalp  at  every  resting  place.  Upon  this  discovery  the  treas- 
ure seekers,  already  reduced  to  a  poor  half  dozen,  fell  into 
mere  dismay,  seized  a  few  necessaries,  and  deserting  the  re- 
mainder of  their  goods,  fled  outright  into  the  forest.  Their 
fire,  they  left  still  burning,  and  their  dead  comrade  unburied. 
All  day  they  ceased  not  to  flee,  eating  by  the  way,  from  hand 
to  mouth ;  and  since  they  feared  to  sleep,  continued  to  ad- 
vance at  random  even  in  the  hours  of  darkness.  But  the  limit 
of  man's  endurance  is  soon  reached ;  when  they  rested  at  last, 
it  was  to  sleep  profoundly ;  and  when  they  woke,  it  was  to  find 
that  the  enemy  was  still  upon  their  heels,  and  death  and 

212 


THE  MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

n.utilation  had  once  more  lessened  and  deformed  their 
company. 

By  this,  they  had  become  light-headed,  they  had  quite 
missed  their  path  in  the  wilderness,  their  stores  were  already 
running  low.  With  the  further  horrors,  it  is  superfluous  that 
I  should  swell  this  narrative,  already  too  prolonged.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  that  when  at  length  a  night  passed  by  innocuous, 
and  they  might  breathe  again  in  the  hope  that  the  murderer 
had  at  last  desisted  from  pursuit,  Mountain  and  Secundra 
were  alone.  The  trader  is  firmly  persuaded  their  unseen 
enemy  was  some  warrior  of  his  own  acquaintance,  and  that 
he  himself  was  spared  by  favor.  The  mercy  extended  to 
Secundra  he  explains  on  the  ground  that  the  East  Indian  was 
thought  to  be  insane ;  partly  from  the  fact  that,  through  all 
the  horrors  of  the  flight  and  while  others  were  casting  away 
their  very  food  and  weapons,  Secundra  continued  to  stagger 
forward  with  a  mattock  on  his  shoulder ;  and  partly  because 
in  the  last  days  and  with  a  great  degree  of  heat  and  fluency, 
he  perpetually  spoke  with  himself  in  his  own  language.  But 
he  was  sane  enough  when  it  came  to  English. 

"  You  think  he  will  be  gone  quite  away  ?  "  he  asked,  upon 
their  blessed  awakening  in  safety. 

"  I  pray  God  so,  I  believe  so,  I  dare  to  believe  so,"  Moun- 
tain had  replied  almost  with  incoherence  as  he  described  the 
scene  to  me. 

And  indeed  he  was  so  much  distempered  that  until  he  met 
us  the  next  morning  he  could  scarce  be  certain  whether  he 
had  dreamed,  or  whether  it  was  a  fact,  that  Secundra  had 
thereupon  turned  directly  about  and  returned  without  a  word 
upon  their  footprints,  setting  his  face  for  these  wintery  and 
hungry  solitudes,  along  a  path  whose  every  stage  was  mile- 
stoned  with  a  mutilated  corpse. 


213 


THE  JOUENEY  IN  THE  WILDERNESS   (continued) 

MOUNTAIN'S  story,  as  it  was  laid  before  Sir  William 
Johnson  and  my  lord,  was  shorn,  of  course,  of  all  the 
earlier  particulars,  and  the  expedition  described  to  have  pro- 
ceeded uneventfully,  until  the  master  sickened.  But  the  latter 
part  was  very  forcibly  related,  the  speaker  visibly  thrilling  to 
his  recollections ;  and  our  then  situation,  on  the  fringe  of  the 
same  desert,  and  the  private  interests  of  each,  gave  him  an 
audience  prepared  to  share  in  his  emotions.  For  Mountain's 
intelligence  not  only  changed  the  world  for  my  Lord  Durris- 
deer,  but  materially  affected  the  designs  of  Sir  William 
Johnson. 

These  I  find  I  must  lay  more  at  length  before  the  reader. 
Word  had  reached  Albany  of  dubious  import;  it  had  been 
rumored  some  hostility  was  to  be  put  in  act;  and  the  Indian 
diplomatist  had,  thereupon,  sped  into  the  wilderness,  even  at 
the  approach  of  winter,  to  nip  that  mischief  in  the  bud. 
Here,  on  the  borders,  he  learned  that  he  was  come  too  late; 
and  a  difficult  choice  was  thus  presented  to  a  man  (upon  the 
whole)  not  any  more  bold  than  prudent.  His  standing  with 
the  painted  braves  may  be  compared  to  that  of  my  Lord 
President  Culloden  among  the  chiefs  of  our  own  Highlanders 
at  the  '45 ;  that  is  as  much  as  to  say,  he  was,  to  these 
men,  reason's  only  speaking  trumpet,  and  counsels  of  peace 
and  moderation,  if  they  were  to  prevail  at  all,  must  prevail 
singly  through  his  influence.  If,  then,  he  should  return,  the 
province  must  lie  open  to  all  the  abominable  tragedies  of 
Indian  war — the  houses  blaze,  the  wayfarer  be  cut  off,  and 
the  men  of  the  woods  collect  their  usual  disgusting  spoil  of 
human  scalps.  On  the  other  side,  to  go  further  forth,  to 
risk  so  small  a  party  deeper  in  the  desert  to  carry  words  of 
peace  among  warlike  savages  already  rejoicing  to  return  to 
war :  here  was  an  extremity  from  which  it  was  easy  to  perceive 
his  mind  revolted. 

214 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

"  I  have  come  too  late,"  he  said  more  than  once,  and  would 
fall  into  a  deep  consideration,  his  head  bowed  in  his  hands, 
his  foot  patting  the  ground. 

At  length  he  raised  his  face  and  looked  upon  us,  that  is 
to  say,  upon  my  lord,  Mountain,  and  myself,  sitting  close 
round  a  small  fire,  which  had  been  made  for  privacy  in  one 
corner  of  the  camp. 

"  My  lord,  to  be  quite  frank  with  you,  I  find  myself  in 
two  minds,"  said  he.  "  I  think  it  very  needful  I  should  go  on, 
but  not  at  all  proper  I  should  any  longer  enjoy  the  pleasure 
of  your  company.  We  are  here  still  upon  the  water-side ;  and 
I  think  the  risk  to  southward  no  great  matter.  Will  not 
yourself  and  Mr.  Mackellar  take  a  single  boat's  crew  and 
return  to  Albany  ?  " 

My  lord,  I  should  say,  had  listened  to  Mountain's  narra- 
tive, regarding  him  throughout  with  a  painful  intensity  of 
gaze;  and  since  the  tale  concluded,  had  sat  as  in  a  dream. 
There  was  something  very  daunting  in  his  look;  something 
to  my  eyes  not  rightly  human ;  the  face,  lean,  and  dark,  and 
aged,  the  mouth  painful,  the  teeth  disclosed  in  a  perpetual 
rictus ;  the  eyeball  swimming  clear  of  the  lids  upon  a  field  of 
bloodshot  white.  I  could  not  behold  him  myself  without  a 
jarring  irritation,  such  as  (I  believe)  is  too  frequently  the 
uppermost  feeling  on  the  sickness  of  those  dear  to  us. 
Others,  I  could  not  but  remark,  were  scarce  able  to  support 
his  neighborhood — Sir  William  eviting  to  be  near  him,  Moun- 
tain dodging  his  eye,  and,  when  he  met  it,  blanching  and  halt- 
ing in  his  story.  At  this  appeal,  however,  my  lord  appeared 
to  recover  his  command  upon  himself. 

"  To  Albany  ?  "  said  he,  with  a  good  voice. 

"  Not  short  of  it,  at  least,"  replied  Sir  William.  "  There 
is  no  safety  nearer  at  hand." 

"  I  would  be  very  sweir  *  to  return,"  says  my  lord.  "  I  am 
not  afraid — of  Indians,"  he  added,  with  a  jerk. 

"  I  wish  that  I  could  say  so  much,"  returned  Sir  William, 
smiling ;  "  although,  if  any  man  durst  say  it,  it  should  be 
myself.  But  you  are  to  keep  in  view  my  responsibility,  and 
that  as  the  voyage  has  now  become  highly  dangerous,  and 

*  Unwilling. 
215 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

your  business — if  you  ever  had  any,"  says  he,  "  brought  quite 
to  a  conclusion  by  the  distressing  family  intelligence  you  have 
received,  I  should  be  hardly  justified  if  I  even  suffered  you  to 
proceed,  and  run  the  risk  of  some  obloquy  if  anything  re- 
grettable should  follow." 

My  lord  turned  to  Mountain.  "  What  did  he  pretend  he 
died  of?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  don't  think  I  understand  your  honor,"  said  the  trader, 
pausing  like  a  man  very  much  affected,  in  the  dressing  of 
some  cruel  frost-bites. 

For  a  moment  my  lord  seemed  at  a  full  stop;  and  then, 
with  some  irritation,  "  I  ask  you  what  he  died  of.  Surely 
that's  a  plain  question,"  said  he. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  said  Mountain.  "  Hastie  even  never 
knew.  He  seemed  to  sicken  natural,  and  just  passed 
away." 

"  There  it  is,  you  see ! "  concluded  my  lord,  turning  to  Sir 
William. 

"  Your  lordship  is  too  deep  for  me,"  replied  Sir  William. 

"  Why,"  says  my  lord,  "  this  is  a  matter  of  succession ; 
my  son's  title  may  be  called  in  doubt ;  and  the  man  being  sup- 
posed to  be  dead  of  nobody  can  tell  what,  a  great  deal  of 
suspicion  would  be  naturally  roused." 

"  But,  God  damn  me,  the  man's  buried !  "  cried  Sir  William. 

"  I  will  never  believe  that,"  returned  my  lord,  painfully 
trembling.  "  I'll  never  believe  it ! "  he  cried  again,  and 
jumped  to  his  feet.  "Did  he  look  dead?"  he  asked  of 
Mountain. 

"  Look  dead  ?  "  repeated  the  trader.  "  He  looked  white. 
Why,  what  would  he  be  at?  I  tell  you,  I  put  the  sods  upon 
him." 

My  lord  caught  Sir  William  by  the  coat  with  a  hooked 
hand.  "  This  man  has  the  name  of  my  brother,"  says  he, 
"  but  it's  well  understood  that  he  was  never  canny." 

"  Canny?  "  says  Sir  William.     "  What  is  that?  " 

"  He's  not  of  this  world,"  whispered  my  lord,  "  neither 
him  nor  the  black  deil  that  serves  him.  I  have  struck  my 
sword  throughout  his  vitals,"  he  cried,  "  I  have  felt  the  hilt 

216 


dirl  *  on  his  breast-bone,  and  the  hot  blood  spurt  in  my  very, 
face,  time  and  again,  time  and  again !  "  he  repeated,  with  a 
gesture  indescribable.  "  But  he  was  never  dead  for  that," ; 
said  he,  and  I  sighed  aloud.  "  Why  should  I  think  he  was! 
dead  now?  No,  not  till  I  see  him  rotting,"  says  he. 

Sir  William  looked  across  at  me,  with  a  long  face.  Moun-] 
tain  forgot  his  wounds,  staring  and  gaping. 

"  My  lord,"  said  I,  "  I  wish  you  would  collect  your  spirits." 
But  my  throat  was  so  dry,  and  my  own  wits  so  scattered,  I. 
could  add  no  more. 

"  No,"  says  my  lord,  "  it's  not  to  be  supposed  that  he 
would  understand  me.  Mackellar  does,  for  he  kens  all,  and 
has  seen  him  buried  before  now.  This  is  a  very  good  servant 
to  me,  Sir  William,  this  man  Mackellar;  he  buried  him  with 
his  own  hands — he  and  my  father — by  the  light  of  two  siller 
candlesticks.  The  other  man  is  a  familiar  spirit ;  he  brought 
him  from  Coromandel.  I  would  have  told  ye  this  long  syne, 
Sir  William,  only  it  was  in  the  family."  These  last  remarks 
he  made  with  a  kind  of  melancholy  composure,  and  his  time 
of  aberration  seemed  to  pass  away.  "  You  can  ask  yourself 
what  it  all  means,"  he  proceeded.  "  My  brother  falls  sick, 
and  dies,  and  is  buried,  as  so  they  say;  and  all  seems  very 
plain.  But  why  did  the  familiar  go  back?  I  think  ye  must 
see  for  yourself  it's  a  point  that  wants  some  clearing." 

"  I  will  be  at  your  service,  my  lord,  in  half  a  minute,"  said 
Sir  William,  rising.  "  Mr.  Mackellar,  two  words  with  you," 
and  he  led  me  without  the  camp,  the  frost  crunching  in  our 
steps,  the  trees  standing  at  our  elbow  hoar  with  frost,  even 
as  on  that  night  in  the  long  shrubbery.  "  Of  course,  this  is 
midsummer  madness?  "  said  Sir  William,  so  soon  as  we  were 
gotten  out  of  hearing. 

"  Why,  certainly,"  said  I.  "  The  man  is  mad.  I  think: 
that  manifest." 

"  S^iall  I  seize  and  bind  him?  "  asked  Sir  William.  "  I  will 
upon  your  authority.  If  these  are  all  ravings,  that  should 
certainly  be  done." 

I  looked  down  upon  the  ground,  back  at  the  camp  with  its 
bright  fires  and  the  folk  watching  us,  and  about  me  on  the 
217  *Ring. 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

woods  and  mountains;  there  was  just  the  one  way  that  I 
could  not  look,  and  that  was  in  Sir  William's  face. 

"  Sir  William,"  said  I,  at  last,  "  I  think  my  lord  not  sane, 
and  have  long  thought  him  so.  But  there  are  degrees  in 
madness ;  and  whether  he  should  be  brought  under  restraint — 
Sir  William,  I  am  no  fit  judge,"  I  concluded. 

"  I  will  be  the  judge,"  said  he.  "  I  ask  for  facts.  Was 
there,  in  all  that  jargon,  any  word  of  truth  or  sanity?  Do 
you  hesitate?  "  he  asked.  "  Am  I  to  understand  you  have 
buried  this  gentleman  before?  " 

"  Not  buried,"  said  I ;  and  then,  taking  up  courage  at  last, 
"  Sir  William,"  said  I,  "  unless  I  were  to  tell  you  a  long  story, 
which  much  concerns  a  noble  family  (and  myself  not  in  the 
least),  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  this  matter  clear  to  you. 
Say  the  word,  and  I  will  do  it,  right  or  wrong.  And,  at  any 
rate,  I  will  say  so  much,  that  my  lord  is  not  so  crazy  as  he 
seems.  This  is  a  strange  matter,  into  the  tail  of  which  you 
are  unhappily  drifted." 

"  I  desire  none  of  your  secrets,"  replied  Sir  William ;  "  but 
I  will  be  plain,  at  the  risk  of  incivility,  and  confess  that  I 
take  little  pleasure  in  my  present  company." 

"  I  would  be  the  last  to  blame  you,"  said  I,  "  for  that." 

"  I  have  not  asked  either  for  your  censure  or  your  praise, 
sir,"  returned  Sir  William.  "  I  desire  simply  to  be  quit  of 
you ;  and  to  that  effect,  I  put  a  boat  and  complement  of  men 
at  your  disposal." 

"  This  is  fairly  offered,"  said  I,  after  reflection.  "  But 
you  must  suffer  me  to  say  a  word  upon  the  other  side.  We 
have  a  natural  curiosity  to  learn  the  truth  of  this  affair;  I 
have  some  of  it  myself;  my  lord  (it  is  very  plain)  has  but  too 
much.  The  matter  of  the  Indian's  return  is  enigmatical." 

"  I  think  so  myself,"  Sir  William  interrupted,  "  and  I 
propose  (since  I  go  in  that  direction)  to  probe  it  to  the  bot- 
tom. Whether  or  not  the  man  has  gone  like  a  dog  to  die  upon 
his  master's  grave,  his  life,  at  least,  is  in  great  danger,  and  I 
propose,  if  I  can,  to  save  it.  There  is  nothing  against  his 
character  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  Sir  William,"  I  replied. 

218 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  And  the  other  ?  "  he  said.  "  I  have  heard  my  lord,  of 
course;  but,  from  the  circumstances  of  his  servant's  loyalty, 
I  must  suppose  he  had  some  noble  qualities." 

"  You  must  not  ask  me  that !  "  I  cried.  "  Hell  may  have 
noble  flames.  I  have  known  him  a  score  of  years,  and  always 
hated,  and  always  admired,  and  always  slavishly  feared  him." 

"  I  appear  to  intrude  again  upon  your  secrets,"  said  Sir 
William,  "  believe  me,  inadvertently.  Enough  that  I  will  see 
the  grave,  and  (if  possible)  rescue  the  Indian.  Upon  these 
terms,  can  you  persuade  your  master  to  return  to  Albany  ?  " 

"  Sir  William,"  said  I,  "  I  will  tell  you  how  it  is.  You  do 
not  see  my  lord  to  advantage ;  it  will  seem  even  strange  to  you 
that  I  should  love  him ;  but  I  do,  and  I  am  not  alone.  If  he 
goes  back  to  Albany  it  must  be  by  force,  and  it  will  be  the 
death-warrant  of  his  reason,  and  perhaps  his  life.  That  is 
my  sincere  belief ;  but  I  am  in  your  hands,  and  ready  to  obey, 
if  you  will  assume  so  much  responsibility  as  to  command." 

"  I  will  have  no  shred  of  responsibility ;  it  is  my  single 
endeavor  to  avoid  the  same,"  cried  Sir  William.  "  You  insist 
upon  following  this  journey  up;  and  be  it  so!  I  wash  my 
hands  of  the  whole  matter." 

With  which  word  he  turned  upon  his  heel  and  gave  the 
order  to  break  camp ;  and  my  lord,  who  had  been  hovering 
near  by,  came  instantly  to  my  side. 

"  Which  is  it  to  be?  "  said  he. 

"  You  are  to  have  your  way,"  I  answered.  "  You  shall  see 
the  grave." 

The  situation  of  the  Master's  grave  was,  between  guides, 
easily  described;  it  lay,  indeed,  beside  a  chief  landmark  of 
the  wilderness,  a  certain  range  of  peaks,  conspicuous  by  their 
design  and  altitude,  and  the  source  of  many  brawling  tribu- 
taries to  that  inland  sea,  Lake  "'hamplain.  It  was  therefore 
possible  to  strike  for  it  direct,  ii.  >tead  of  following  back  the 
blood-stained  trail  of  the  fugitives,  and  to  cover,  in  some  six- 
teen hours  of  march,  a  distance  which  their  perturbed  wan- 
derings had  extended  over  more  than  sixty.  Our  boats  we 
left  under  a  guard  upon  the  river;  it  was,  indeed,  probable 

219 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

we  should  return  to  find  them  frozen  fast;  and  the  small 
equipment  with  which  we  set  forth  upon  the  expedition  in- 
cluded not  only  an  infinity  of  furs  to  protect  us  from  the  cold, 
but  an  arsenal  of  snowshoes  to  render  travel  possible,  when 
the  inevitable  snow  should  fall.  Considerable  alarm  was  man- 
ifested at  our  departure;  the  march  was  conducted  with 
soldierly  precaution,  the  camp  at  night  sedulously  chosen 
and  patroled;  and  it  was  a  consideration  of  this  sort  that 
arrested  us,  the  second  day,  within  not  many  hundred  yards 
of  our  destination — the  night  being  already  imminent,  the 
spot  in  which  we  stood  well  qualified  to  be  a  strong  camp  for 
a  party  of  our  numbers;  and  Sir  William,  therefore,  on  a 
sudden  thought,  arresting  our  advance. 

Before  us  was  the  high  range  of  mountains  toward  which 
we  had  been  all  day  deviously  drawing  near.  From  the  first 
light  of  the  dawn,  their  silver  peaks  had  been  the  goal  of  our 
advance  across  a  tumbled  lowland  forest,  thrid  with  rough 
streams,  and  strewn  with  monstrous  bowlders;  the  peaks  (as 
I  say)  silver,  for  already  at  the  higher  altitudes  the  snow  fell 
nightly;  but  the  woods  and  the  low  ground  only  breathed 
upon  with  frost.  All  day  heaven  had  been  charged  with  ugly 
vapors,  in  the  which  the  sun  swam  and  glimmered  like  a 
shilling  piece;  all  day  the  wind  blew  on  our  left  cheek,  bar- 
barous cold,  but  very  pure  to  breathe.  With  the  end  of  the 
afternoon,  however,  the  wind  fell ;  the  clouds,  being  no  longer 
re-enforced,  were  scattered  or  drunk  up ;  the  sun  set  behind 
us  with  some  wintery  splendor,  and  the  white  brow  of  the 
mountains  shared  its  dying  glow. 

It  was  dark  ere  we  had  supper;  we  ate  in  silence,  and  the 
meal  was  scarce  dispatched  before  my  lord  slunk  from  the 
fireside  to  the  margin  of  the  camp,  whither  I  made  haste  to 
follow  him.  The  camp  was  on  high  ground  overlooking  a 
frozen  lake,  perhaps  a  milf  in  its  longest  measurement;  all 
about  us  the  forest  lay  in  heights  and  hollows ;  above  rose  the 
white  mountains ;  and  higher  yet,  the  moon  rode  in  a  fair  sky. 
There  was  no  breath  of  air ;  nowhere  a  twig  creaked ;  and  the 
sounds  of  our  own  camp  were  hushed  anc1  -"-allowed  up  in  the 
surrounding  stillness.  Now  that  the  sun  and  the  wind  were 

220 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

both  gone  down,  it  appeared  almost  warm,  like  a  night  of 
July;  a  singular  illusion  of  the  sense,  when  earth,  air,  and 
water  were  strained  to  bursting  with  the  extremity  of  frost. 

My  lord  (or  what  I  still  continued  to  call  by  his  loved 
name)  stood  with  his  elbow  in  one  hand,  and  his  chin  sunk  in 
the  other,  gazing  before  him  on  the  surface  of  the  wood.  My 
eyes  followed  his,  and  rested  almost  pleasantly  upon  the 
frosted  contexture  of  the  pines,  rising  in  moonlit  hillocks,  or 
sinking  in  the  shadow  of  small  glens.  Hard  by,  I  told  myself, 
was  the  grave  of  our  enemy,  now  gone  where  the  wicked  cease 
from  troubling,  the  earth  neaped  forever  on  his  once  so  active 
limbs.  I  could  not  but  think  of  him  as  somehow  fortunate,  to 
be  thus  done  with  man's  anxiety  and  weariness,  the  daily  ex- 
pense of  spirit,  and  that  daily  river  of  circumstance  to  be 
swum  through,  at  any  hazard,  under  the  penalty  of  shame  or 
death.  I  could  not  but  think  how  good  was  the  end  of  that 
long  travel;  and  with  that,  my  mind  swung  at  a  tangent  to 
my  lord.  For  was  not  my  lord  dead  also?  a  maimed  soldier, 
looking  vainly  for  discharge,  lingering  derided  in  the  line  of 
battle?  A  kind  man,  I  remembered  him;  wise,  with  a  decent 
pride,  a  son  perhaps  too  dutiful,  a  husband  only  too  loving, 
one  that  could  suffer  and  be  silent,  one  whose  hand  I  loved  to 
press.  Of  a  sudden,  pity  caught  in  my  wind-pipe  with  a  sob ; 
I  could  have  wept  aloud  to  remember  and  behold  him;  and 
standing  thus  by  his  elbow,  under  the  broad  moon,  I  prayed 
fervently  either  that  he  should  be  released  or  I  strengthened 
to  persist  in  my  affection. 

"  Oh  God,"  said  I,  "  this  was  the  best  man  to  me  and  to 
himself,  and  now  I  shrink  from  him.  He  did  no  wrong,  or 
not  till  he  was  broke  with  sorrows ;  these  are  but  his  honorable 
wounds  that  we  begin  to  shrink  from.  Oh,  cover  them  up,  oh, 
take  him  away,  before  we  hate  him !  " 

I  was  still  so  engaged  in  my  own  bosom,  when  a  sound  broke 
suddenly  upon  the  night.  It  was  neither  very  loud  nor  very 
near;  yet,  bursting  as  it  did  from  so  profound  and  so  pro- 
longed a  silence,  it  startled  the  camp  like  an  alarm  of 
trumpets.  Ere  I  had  taken  breath  Sir  William  was  beside 
me,  the  main  part  of  the  voyagers  clustered  at  his  back,  in- 

221 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

tently  giving  ear.  Methought,  as  I  glanced  at  them  across 
my  shoulder,  there  was  a  whiteness,  other  than  moonlight,  on 
their  cheeks ;  and  the  rays  of  the  moon  reflected  with  a  sparkle 
on  the  eyes  of  some,  and  the  shadows  lying  black  under  the 
brows  of  others  (according  as  they  raised  or  bowed  the  head 
to  listen)  gave  to  the  group  a  strange  air  of  animation  and 
anxiety.  My  lord  was  to  the  front,  crouching  a  little  forth, 
his  hand  raised  as  for  silence;  a  man  turned  to  stone.  And 
still  the  sounds  continued,  breathlessly  renewed,  with  a  pre- 
cipitate rhythm. 

Suddenly  Mountain  spoke  in  a  loud,  broken  whisper,  as  of 
a  man  relieved.  "  I  have  it  now,"  he  said ;  and,  as  we  all 
turned  to  hear  him,  "  the  Indian  must  have  known  the  cache," 
he  added.  "  That  is  he — he  is  digging  out  the  treasure." 

"  Why,  to  be  sure !  "  exclaimed  Sir  William.  "  We  were 
geese  not  to  have  supposed  so  much." 

"  The  only  thing  is,"  Mountain  resumed,  "  the  sound  is 
very  close  to  our  old  camp.  And  again,  I  do  not  see  how  he 
is  there  before  us,  unless  the  man  had  wings ! " 

"  Greed  and  fear  are  wings,"  remarked  Sir  William.  "  But 
this  rogue  has  given  us  an  alert,  and  I  have  a  notion  to  return 
the  compliment.  What  say  you,  gentlemen,  shall  we  have  a 
moonlight  hunt?  " 

It  was  so  agreed;  dispositions  were  made  to  surround 
Secundra  at  his  task :  some  of  Sir  William's  Indians  hastened 
in  advance;  and  a  strong  guard  being  left  at  our  headquar- 
ters, we  set  forth  along  the  uneven  bottom  of  the  forest ;  frost 
crackling,  ice  sometimes  loudly  splitting  underfoot ;  and  over- 
head the  blackness  of  pine  woods,  and  the  broken  brightness 
of  the  moon.  Our  way  led  down  into  a  hollow  of  the  land; 
and  as  we  descended  the  sounds  diminished  and  had  almost 
died  away.  Upon  the  other  slope  it  was  more  open,  only 
dotted  with  a  few  pines,  and  several  vast  and  scattered  rocks 
that  made  inky  shadows  in  the  moonlight.  Here  the  sounds 
began  to  reach  us  more  distinctly ;  we  could  now  perceive  the 
ring  of  iron,  and  more  exactly  estimate  the  furious  degree  of 
haste  with  which  the  digger  plied  his  instrument.  As  we 
neared  the  top  of  the  ascent  a  bird  or  two  winged  aloft  and 

222 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

hovered  darkly  in  the  moonlight;  and  the  next  moment  we 
were  gazing  through  a  fringe  of  trees  upon  a  singular 
picture. 

A  narrow  plateau,  overlooked  by  the  white  mountains,  and 
encompassed  nearer  hand  by  woods,  lay  bare  to  the  strong 
radiance  of  the  moon.  Rough  goods,  such  as  make  the  wealth 
of  foresters,  were  sprinkled  here  and  there  upon  the  ground 
in  meaningless  disarray.  About  the  midst  a  tent  stood, 
silvered  with  frost;  the  door  open,  gaping  on  the  black  in- 
terior. At  the  one  end  of  this  small  stage  lay  what  seemed 
the  tattered  remnants  of  a  man.  Without  doubt  we  had  ar- 
rived upon  the  scene  of  Harris'  encampment ;  there  were  the 
goods  scattered  in  the  panic  of  flight ;  it  was  in  yon  tent  the 
Master  breathed  his  last;  and  the  frozen  carrion  that  lay 
before  us  was  the  body  of  the  drunken  shoemaker.  It  was 
always  moving  to  come  upon  the  theater  of  any  tragic  in- 
cident ;  to  come  upon  it  after  so  many  days,  and  to  find  it 
(in  the  seclusion  of  a  desert)  still  unchanged,  must  have  im- 
pressed the  mind  of  the  most  careless.  And  yet  it  was  not 
that  which  struck  us  into  pillars  of  stone;  but  the  sight 
(which  yet  we  had  been  half  expecting)  of  Secundra,  ankle 
deep  in  the  grave  of  his  late  master.  He  had  cast  the  main 
part  of  his  raiment  by,  yet  his  frail  arms  and  shoulders 
glistened  in  the  moonlight  with  a  copious  sweat ;  his  face  was 
contracted  with  anxiety  and  expectation ;  his  blows  resounded 
on  the  grave,  as  thick  sobs ;  and  behind  him,  strangely  de- 
formed and  ink-black  upon  the  frosty  ground,  the  creature's 
shadow  repeated  and  parodied  his  swift  gesticulations.  Some 
night-birds  arose  from  the  boughs  upon  our  coming,  and  then 
settled  back;  but  Secundra,  absorbed  in  his  toil,  heard  or 
heeded  not  at  all. 

I  heard  Mountain  whisper  to  Sir  William :  "  Good  God, 
it's  the  grave !  He's  digging  him  up !  "  It  was  what  we  had 
all  guessed,  and  yet  to  hear  it  put  in  language  thrilled  me. 
Sir  William  violently  started. 

"  You  damned  sacrilegious  hound !  "  he  cried.  "  What's 
this?" 

Secundra  leaped  in  the  air,  a  little  breathless  cry  escaped 
223 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

him,  the  tool  flew  from  his  grasp,  and  he  stood  one  instant 
staring  at  the  speaker.  The  next,  swift  as  an  arrow,  he  sped 
for  the  woods  upon  the  further  side;  and  the  next  again, 
throwing  up  his  hands  with  a  violent  gesture  of  resolution, 
he  had  begun  already  to  retrace  his  steps. 

"  Well,  then  you  come,  you  help —  "  he  was  saying.  But 
by  now  my  lord  had  stepped  beside  Sir  William;  the  moon 
shone  fair  upon  his  face,  and  the  words  were  still  upon 
Secundra's  lips  when  he  beheld  and  recognized  his  Master's 
enemy.  "  Him ! "  he  screamed,  clasping  his  hands  ,  and 
shrinking  on  himself. 

"  Come,  come,"  said  Sir  William,  "  there  is  none  here  to 
do  you  harm,  if  you  be  innocent ;  and  if  you  be  guilty,  your 
escape  is  quite  cut  off.  Speak,  what  do  you  here  among  the 
graves  of  the  dead  and  the  remains  of  the  unburied  ?  " 

"  You  no  murderer  ?  "  inquired  Secundra.  "  You  true 
man  ?  You  see  me  safe  ?  " 

"  I  will  see  you  safe,  if  you  be  innocent,"  returned  Sir 
William.  "  I  have  said  the  thing,  and  I  see  not  wherefore 
you  should  doubt  it." 

"  There  all  murderers,"  cried  Secundra,  "  that  is  why !  He 
kill — murderer,"  pointing  to  Mountain ;  "  there  two  hire- 
murderers  " — pointing  to  my  lord  and  myself — "  all  gallows- 
murderers  !  Ah,  I  see  you  all  swing  in  a  rope.  Now  I  go 
save  the  sahib ;  he  see  you  swing  in  a  rope.  The  sahib,"  he 
continued,  pointing  to  the  grave,  "  he  not  dead.  He  bury,  he 
not  dead." 

My  lord  uttered  a  little  noise,  moved  nearer  to  the  grave, 
and  stood  and  stared  in  it. 

"  Buried  and  not  dead?  "  exclaimed  Sir  William.  "  What 
kind  of  rant  is  this?  " 

"  See,  sahib !  "  said  Secundra.  "  The  sahib  and  I  alone 
with  murderers ;  try  all  way  to  escape,  no  way  good.  Then 
try  this  way :  good  way  in  warm  climate,  good  way  in  India ; 
here  in  this  damn  cold  place,  who  can  tell?  I  tell  you  pretty 
good  hurry :  you  help,  you  light  a  fire,  help  rub." 

"  What  is  the  creature  talking  of?  "  cried  Sir  William. 
"  My  head  goes  round." 

224 


THE   MASTER  OF   BALLANTRAE 

"  I  tell  you  I  bury  him  alive,"  said  Secundra.  "  I  teach 
him  swallow  his  tongue.  Now  dig  him  up  pretty  good  hurry, 
and  he  not  much  worse.  You  light  a  fire." 

Sir  William  turned  to  the  nearest  of  his  men.  "  Light  a 
fire,"  said  he.  "  My  lot  seems  to  be  cast  with  the  insane." 

"  You  good  man,"  returned  Secundra.  "  Now  I  go  dig 
the  sahib  up." 

He  returned  as  he  spoke  to  the  grave,  and  resumed  his  for- 
mer toil.  My  lord  stood  rooted,  and  I  at  my  lord's  side :  fear- 
ing I  knew  not  what. 

The  frost  was  not  yet  very  deep,  and  presently  the  Indian 
threw  aside  his  tool  and  began  to  scoop  the  dirt  by  handfuls. 

Then  he  disengaged  a  corner  of  a  buffalo  robe:  and  then 
I  saw  hair  catch  among  his  fingers ;  yet  a  moment  more,  and 
the  moon  shone  on  something  white.  Awhile  Secundra 
crouched  upon  his  knees,  scraping  with  delicate  fingers, 
breathing  with  puffed  lips ;  and  when  he  moved  aside  I  beheld 
the  face  of  the  Master  wholly  disengaged.  It  was  deadly 
white,  the  eyes  closed,  the  ears  and  nostrils  plugged,  the 
cheeks  fallen,  the  nose  sharp  as  if  in  death ;  but  for  all  he  had 
lain  so  many  days  under  the  sod,  corruption  had  not  ap- 
proached him  and  (what  strangely  affected  all  of  us)  his  lipa 
and  chin  were  mantled  with  a  swarthy  beard. 

"  My  God !  "  cried  Mountain,  "  he  was  as  smooth  as  a  baby 
when  we  laid  him  there !  " 

"  They  say  hair  grows  upon  the  dead,"  observed  Sir 
William,  but  his  voice  was  thick  and  weak. 

Secundra  paid  no  heed  to  our  remarks,  digging  swift  as  a 
terrier,  in  the  loose  earth;  every  moment  the  form  of  the 
master,  swathed  in  his  buffalo  robe,  grew  more  distinct  in 
the  bottom  of  that  shallow  trough ;  the  moon  shining  strong, 
and  the  shadows  of  the  standers-by,  as  they  drew  forward 
and  back,  falling  and  flitting  over  his  emergent  countenance. 
The  sight  held  us  with  a  horror  not  before  experienced.  I 
dared  not  look  my  lord  in  the  face,  but  for  as  long  as  it  lasted 
I  never  observed  him  to  draw  breath ;  and  a  little  in  the  back- 
ground one  of  the  men  (I  know  not  whom)  burst  into  a  kind 
of  sobbing. 

225 


THE  MASTER  OF  BALLANTRAE 

**  Now,"  said  Secundra,  "  you  help  me  lift  him  out." 
Of  the  flight  of  time  I  have  no  idea ;  it  may  have  been  three 
hours,  and  it  may  have  been  five,  that  the  Indian  labored  to 
reanimate  his  master's  body.  One  thing  only  I  know,  that  it 
was  still  night,  and  the  moon  was  not  yet  set,  although  it  had 
sunk  low,  and  now  barred  the  plateau  with  long  shadows,  when 
Secundra  uttered  a  small  cry  of  satisfaction ;  and,  leaning 
swiftly  forth,  I  thought  I  could  myself  perceive  a  change 
upon  that  icy  countenance  of  the  unburied.  The  next  moment 
I  beheld  his  eyelids  flutter ;  the  next  they  rose  entirely,  and  the 
week-old  corpse  looked  me  for  a  moment  in  the  face. 

So  much  display  of  life  I  can  myself  swear  to.  I  have 
heard  from  others  that  he  visibly  strove  to  speak,  that  his 
teeth  showed  in  his  beard,  and  that  his  brow  was  contorted  as 
with  an  agony  of  pain  and  effort.  And  this  may  have  been ; 
I  do  not  know,  I  was  otherwise  engaged.  For,  at  that  first 
disclosure  of  the  dead  man's  eyes,  my  Lord  Durrisdeer 
fell  to  the  ground,  and  when  I  raised  him  up  he  was  a 
corpse. 

Day  came,  and  still  Secundra  could  not  be  persuaded  to 
desist  from  his  unavailing  efforts.  Sir  William,  leaving  a 
small  party  under  my  command,  proceeded  on  his  embassy 
with  the  first  light ;  and  still  the  Indian  rubbed  the  limbs  and 
breathed  in  the  mouth  of  the  dead  body.  You  would  think 
such  labors  might  have  vitalized  a  stone ;  but,  except  for  that 
one  moment  (which  was  my  lord's  death),  the  black  spirit  of 
the  Master  held  aloof  from  its  discarded  clay;  and  by  about 
the  hour  of  noon  even  the  faithful  servant  was  at  length  con- 
vinced. He  took  it  with  unshaken  quietude. 

'*  Too  cold,"  said  he,  "  good  way  in  India,  no  good  here." 
And,  asking  for  some  food,  which  he  ravenously  devoured  as 
soon  as  it  was  set  before  him,  he  drew  near  to  the  fire  and 
took  his  place  at  my  elbow.  In  the  same  spot,  as  soon  as  he 
had  eaten,  he  stretched  himself  out,  and  fell  into  a  childlike 
slumber,  from  which  I  must  arouse  him,  some  hours  after- 
ward, to  take  his  part  as  one  of  the  mourners  at  the  double 
funeral.  It  was  the  same  throughout;  he  seemed  to  have 


outlived  at  once  and  ^ith  the  same  effort,  his  grief  for  his 
master  and  his  terror  of  myself  and  Mountain. 

One  of  the  men  left  with  me  was  skilled  in  stonecutting ; 
and  before  Sir  William  returned  to  pick  us  up  I  had  chiseled 
on  a  bowlder  this  inscription,  with  a  copy  of  which  I  may 
fitly  bring  my  narrative  to  a  close : 

j.  D., 

HEIR  TO  A  SCOTTISH  TITLE, 
A  MASTER  OF  THE  ARTS  AND  GRACES, 
ADMIRED    IN    EUROPE,    ASIA,    AMERICA, 

IN  WAR  AND  PEACE, 

IN  THE  TENTS  OF  SAVAGE   HUNTERS  AND  THE 
CITADELS   OF  KINGS,  AFTER  SO   MUCH 
ACQUIRED,  ACCOMPLISHED,  AND 
ENDURED,  LIES  HERE  FOR- 
GOTTEN. 

H.  D., 

HIS  BROTHER, 
APTER  A  LIFE  OF  UNMERITED  DISTRESS, 

BRAVELY   SUPPORTED, 

DIED  ALMOST  IN  THE   SAME  HOUR, 

AND   SLEEPS   IN    THE   SAME   GRAVE 

WITH  HIS  FRATERNAL  ENEMY. 


THE  PIETY  OF  HIS  WIFE  AND  ONE  OLD  SEttY- 

ANT  RAISED  THIS  STONE 

TO    BOTH. 


227 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 

COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

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